One Uchiha, Two Uchiha
by XeniaKunoichi
Summary: Complete. Sasuke's back, and Sakura couldn't be more miserable. Long over him, she hates him with a vengance. Now the Akatski have set their sights on her, and she's not sure she wants to refuse. Ita/Saku Warning: some excessive language
1. Chapter 1

This is a Akatsuki story I came up with out of the blue. I'm like that!

Anyway, I hope you like it. R&R or die a gruesome death

XD--Enjoy!

* * *

Pein shuffled through some papers on his desk. He sighed. Running a criminal organization was hard work. Not only was he swamped with work, but that idiotic Jashin-worshiper got himself killed with Kakuzu and Zetsu on a mission.

Not to mention Deidara was constantly getting himself almost killed on whatever missions he was being sent on. And Tobi refused to work with Uchiha and Kisame. Pein couldn't blame him. The two were cruelly effective, not to mention terrifying.

Konan was no help. She was always in her room, brooding.

They needed a new member. Someone who was smart and deadly, as well as able to heal that blonde idiot. A healer would be welcomed. Now he just needed the right ninja.

He twisted his ring. "Get me everyone. We need to have a meeting."

* * *

Lady Tsunade paced her office anxiously. She had a meeting with Hatake Kakashi in a minute, and he _still_ wasn't here. It wasn't like him to be late.

Finally, after five more minutes of pacing, Kakashi arrived.

"What made you late?" she asked immediately.

"A black cat crossed my path, and I had to go-"

"I'm not one of your students, Hatake!" Tsunade sat down, sighing. "It has come to my attention that Sakura has been very distressed as of late. Can you give me a reason as to why?"

"Sasuke."

Tsunade nodded. "Exactly. I don't particularly enjoy my student being miserable, it affects her concentration. Have you seen exactly _how_ she's been reacting to Sasuke?"

"Not really. She's been pretty much avoiding everyone." He sighed. "I'm worried about her. I haven't seen her like this since he left. Except now the situation is reversed."

Tsunade nodded. "I've been thinking of sending her out on a mission with your team, to try to get her used to Sasuke again. I think it would be good for her."

Kakashi nodded. "And also, there's something I wanted you to check-"

Suddenly, Sakura burst in, startling the copy-ninja. He hadn't even sensed her. Tsunade, meanwhile, studied her student. Sakura's expression was under control, but her eyes betrayed that she had heard the grater part of their conversation. It was probably for the best, though.

"Kotestsu said you wanted to see me, Lady Tsunade," she said, not quite seeming to meet anyone's gaze.

"Yes," Lady Tsunade said. It was clear from her tone that her conversation with Kakashi would continue later. He nodded and left.

* * *

Sakura fought to keep her expression under control. It was bad enough she was eavesdropping, but it was worse that she heard them talking about her. It was true, though. She hadn't really been acting normally since Sasuke came back. Wasn't that the same thing she wanted?

'_That was six years ago,'_ Inner Sakura reminded her.

_Yeah, but I still wanted that,_ she thought, trying to shut her Inner up.

'_I'm just trying to help…' _Inner grumbled, taking the hint.

"Sakura, are you all right?" Tsunade asked, real concern in her voice. "I've been noticing you've been having trouble, especially in the hospital."

Sakura winced. She hadn't exactly been excelling like she usually was. She felt guilty about one incident in which one patient left in worse condition than they arrived in.

"Yeah, I've just been a little …distracted," she mumbled, looking away.

"Does it have anything to do with Sasuke?" Sakura flinched, suddenly finding the desk very interesting.

"Lady Tsunade-" Sakura choked on her words and remained silent.

Tsunade sighed. "Sakura, I can't begin to imagine what you're going through right now. If Orochimaru returned like Sasuke did, I'm still not sure exactly how I would feel about that." Another sigh. "Anyway, I'm sending you, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke on a mission in-"

"No!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed. "No, Lady Tsunade, that's really not neccesary-"

"I think it is, Sakura," Tsunade said firmly. "And we both know you need this mission." Sakura was silent. "Are you going to listen?" A stiff nod was given to Tsunade. "Good. Now, was I was saying, you and your team will be going on a mission in Oto in two weeks. We have news of an Akatsuki hideout there, and we would like you to investigate. You will _not_ attack unless attacked first. This is a recon mission only. Understood?"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade." Sakura gave a bow and left.

* * *

"Sakura, let me go!" Naruto yelped. Sakura currently had Naruto in a headlock, and had no intentions of letting him go until he dropped his kunai. Sasuke watched, amused regardless of the fact that he had gotten stuck in Naruto's wire trap.

"Throw the dobe into a tree, Sakura," he said, watching Naruto struggle.

"Shut up, teme!" Naruto whined. "Don't give her any ideas!"

"Too late," Sakura said with a grin.

"Sakura, no!"

But by then, it was too late. With a spectacular swing, she sent Naruto spiraling into a tree a few meters away, snapping the tree fairly quickly. Sasuke cut himself free while Sakura went to find Naruto.

"Oh, come on, Naruto, I didn't throw you _that_ hard." Sakura complained. Naruto laid on his back, his eyes dizzy, moaning.

"Yes…you did…" he said, trying--and failing--to get to his feet. Sakura rolled her eyes and helped him up.

"You know," Sasuke said, watching them. "I was only kidding."

"Stupid…teme…" Naruto said, still disoriented. Sakura merely propped Naruto up by a tree and closed her eyes.

"What-"

"Shh, I'm listening," Sakura said. "Where's Sai?"

Naruto, having regained what senses he had, looked around him. He picked a kunai, spun it, and shot it into a nearby tree. A pen and a bottle of ink fell to the ground. Sakura opened her eyes as Sai came into veiw.

"Hi, Sai," she said.

"Hello, hag," he replied, giving her a small smile.

Suddenly, Kakashi appeared. Finally.

"I'm going to have to cut training short today," he apologized. "Lady Tsunade needs to speak with Naruto and Sasuke for a mission."

Naruto and Sai looked slightly put out. "Aw, but Sai just got here!" Naruto complained.

"Yes," Sai said. "I was looking forward to sparring with Team Baka."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "What'd you just call us?" Sai simply gave the tiniest of smiles and vanished.

Leaving the boys to their own devices, Sakura left the training grounds and headed towards her apartment. On the way, she thought about Sasuke again. There was nothing she could possibly be more confused about.

Shouldn't she be glad that he was back? That he was alive? She wondered exactly _what_ she was feeling. She was over Sasuke, she knew. But she didn't _hate_ him either.

'_I think you would be better off cutting him out entirely,'_ Inner told her.

_Shut up, Inner._

'_Hey, I'm just saying. He screwed up your life once, why couldn't he do it again?'_

Sakura couldn't find anything to say to her Inner.

* * *

"Is everyone here?" Pein asked. Five shadowy figures nodded.

"What's this about, Leader-sama, un?" Deidara asked.

"Partially, it's about you." Pein said. "It's come to my attention that it's time we gained a new member. Deidara has found it impossible to _not_ get himself hurt-"

"Hey, un!" the blonde in question interjected. "I do not get myself hurt _every _time-!"

"Silence, Deidara," Itachi said quietly. Deidara lapsed into an angry silence.

"_Anyway_," Pein continued, shooting a glare at Deidara, "Besides Deidara, we're at a low for members. And--as much as I hate to admit it--I'm at a dead end. Any ideas on a new mem-"

"Actually, Pein-san," Itachi said, vaguely reminiscing, "I have an idea."

"Willing to share?" asked Kisame dryly.

"Actually," Itachi said, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I was thinking about that kunoichi that you lost a fight to…"

_(flashback)_

_Itachi and Kisame examined the small village, neither moving a muscle. Waiting. The pressure was unbearable. They were waiting for daybreak, when they were then ordered to burn this down to the ground._

_For Kisame, the wait was unbearable. "Why can't we just burn it now?" he would ask. Itachi, rather than reply, would continue to sit in silence while Kisame remained grumpy._

_Finally, a few moments before dawn, Itachi sensed four people, rapidly approaching. For one of them, he recognized as the Kyuubi, but the other three were unfamiliar to him. He didn't like this. He glanced at the sky, irritated at being interrupted._

_Kisame had noticed the ninja and stiffened. "Great," he said, a smile tugging at his lips. "Finally, some action." And before Itachi could stop him, Kisame dropped into the full view of the ninja, who were surprisingly close._

_With a silent groan, Itachi followed his partner. He watched, his face impassive, as the ninja arrived. The Kyuubi, always the rash one, was there first. Itachi studied the others._

_There was a pink haired kunoichi, who had very high chakra levels. She was obviously a medical nin. Next to her was a black haired teen with a face nearly as impassive as Itachi's. He had decided to cloak his chakra, and he had done so very well. The last man was obviously the leader. He had an odd face and a head of brownish hair. He wore a face protector and had lower chakra levels than the kunoichi, although Itachi suspected he was hiding most of it._

"_Hey!" the Kyuubi said loudly. "Get out of our way, you stinking terrorists!"_

"_Naruto, shut up," the kunoichi said wearily. "Let's just pretend we didn't see them and get on our way."_

"_I don't think that's possible," Kisame said with a leer. Itachi nearly rolled his eyes at his partner's behavior. Childish much?_

"_Yamato-sensei," the kunoichi asked, looking to their leader. "What should we do?"_

_Yamato looked serious. "I suggest we hold our own."_

_Kisame grinned. "What's wrong, girly? Can't even lift a finger before you break your pretty nails?"_

_The kunoichi's eye twitched. As she turned to glare at Kisame, a heavy aura of murderous intent sprouted around her, causing her teammates to take a few steps back._

"_What did you say, fish-face?" she asked, a weird mix of murderous rage and calm on her face._

_Kisame grinned wider. "I said are you too afraid to lift a finger before you break-"_

_The kunoichi moved so fast Kisame didn't see her coming. Her fist connected with his jaw, effectively sending him flying a few feet away. They immediately began with a heated battle that no one was eager to interrupt._

_Itachi sat under a tree and watched the two continue their sparring match, even though now, both were radiating murderous intent. It was almost funny. Almost._

_Itachi sent out a bunshin to burn down the town, now that it was dawn. The flaming town brightened the sunrise, but no one seemed to notice. He decided to leave Kisame and the kunoichi--who seemed to be winning--fight a little longer._

_An hour and a half later, Itachi and Kisame were speeding away back to base, leaving the Kyuubi and his team unconscious, a result of the Tsukuyomi. Kisame was sporting a fresh black eye, a broken jaw, a mangled arm, and several broken ribs._

_(end flashback)_

"Oh, come on, Itachi," Kisame groaned. "That was months ago-"

"And the kunoichi has no doubt grown stronger since," Itachi interrupted. "Wouldn't you agree?" Kisame glared at Itachi, silently promising to beat him to within an inch of his life.

"Itachi, Kisame," Pein said, looking pleased. "Find that kunoichi and bring her here."

* * *

**A/N:** Tell me if you liked! It's not coming along that bad, I don't think. I'll update soon!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's the second chapter--thank you for all the lovely reveiws! ^_^!

Enjoy!

………………………………....................

Team Seven made their way to the suspected Akatsuki base in silence, uncomfortable. Naruto and Kakashi lagged slightly behind, not daring to talk, lest they annoy Sakura and she shot that death glare at them that made even Tsunade scared to receive. Sasuke seemed just as irritable as Sakura. An aura of murderous intent mixed with anticipation gave him a demented look that made everyone feel awkward.

They hadn't stopped since they left Konoha, and everyone was beginning to get tired. No one would admit it though. Sasuke wouldn't stop until Sakura did, and vice versa. Kakashi and Naruto were nervous enough not to dare.

Finally, Kakashi plucked up enough courage to summon two bunshin to knock the Two Scary Ones enough to make them stop (A/N: Courage, _right_).

Amazingly, it worked. Sasuke and Sakura fell to the ground at exactly the same time, clutching their heads and looking at Kakashi in surprise. Usually, Naruto was on the receiving end of those blows. Kakashi dropped in front of them, looking calm as ever, but internally fighting not to be intimidated by his two students.

"Sakura, Sasuke," he said sternly. "Stop this childish behavior at once!"

"It's _that_ one being childish, not me!" the raven haired boy and the pink haired girl said at the same time, shooting each other death glares. The temperature dropped about ten degrees.

Naruto appeared, giving a weary sigh. "Will you two cut it out? This…hatred between the two of you is driving me nuts! I haven't sparred with either of you in _ages_, and both of you end up in the hospital after every one of your stupid fights!" The two sparees in question stared at Naruto in shock as he continued. "Sasuke, you ripped her heart out, and Sakura, you kicked his sorry butt when we found him and brought him back, but can't you put that behind you? That's history!" He gestured at the two of them. "Can't we be a team again?"

"Naruto," Sakura said, staring at him, "That was probably the smartest sounding thing you've ever said."

Naruto scowled and looked pointedly at Sasuke. "Well?"

Sakura and Sasuke stood up and stared at each other.

"Truce?" Sakura asked, smiling. The temperature dropped another ten degrees.

"For now," Sasuke replied, returning the smile. The beads of sweat on Kakashi's forehead froze and he flicked them off. Sakura and Sasuke shook hands, and even though they were still smiling, each seemed to be trying to crush the other's hand.

Naruto and Kakashi shared a look and sighed. It seems like this was going to take a while (A/N: Aw, Naruto didn't really help! T_T)

--------------------------------

Itachi smirked at the exchange between his brother and the kunoichi. It was sad, really, how much the two detested each other and were forced to work together. But this was no time for that. They were ordered to capture the kunoichi, and if it meant annoying his brother, all the better.

A hundred meters away, Kisame sat, waiting for Itachi to return. He didn't see why they couldn't just grab the kunoichi, kill her teammates and leave. It was so much simpler in so many ways. But no, they had to wait until the shinobi were in Oto before they could attack. They were so close to the border that it didn't seem to matter, anyway.

Kisame watched Itachi arrive. The Uchiha seemed to be fighting with a smirk. Kisame didn't bother asking why, Itachi wouldn't answer.

"They're taking a break," Itachi said, getting control of his smirk. "They should arrive in Oto by noon."

"Great," Kisame said, getting up to stretch. "I'll have something to do soon."

"You're acting like a child."

"And you aren't?"

"…"

"Never mind," Kisame said, grumbling. The two moved off towards Oto in silence.

-------------------------------

"Time to go," Kakashi said, standing up. He looked at his students. Naruto was asleep, Sakura was fashioning a spear out of a tree, and Sasuke was sharpening his swords with a kunai. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Sakura bashed the tree Naruto was in, effectively waking him up and getting him down to ground level. The team set off, Naruto slightly dizzy. Sasuke and Sakura weren't dramatically making the air different, but the killing intent was still there. Kakashi and Naruto had the feeling that they were going to have to get used to this.

The moment they crossed the border, everyone felt Itachi and Kisame's chakra. The two were just standing on the path, waiting for them. The atmosphere immediately darkened. Sasuke got a hungry look as he glared at Itachi, and Kisame and Sakura were exchanging dagger glares. Kakashi and Naruto decided to move into a defensive position againts the two Akatsuki.

Kakashi looked around, moving his headband to reveal his left eye. There was no one within two hundred meters of them that could help. This was bad. Kakashi was no match for Kisame, let alone Itachi. And even with his students, they had little chance of taking the two terrorists down. He would just have to hope for the best.

Unfortunately, Sasuke decided now was the time to act. Forming a chidori, he lunged for Itachi.

"Sasuke, no!" Kakashi said, trying to stop him.

But it was too late. Sasuke's attack had connected, and he wore an expression of triumph--that immediately turned to horror as his brother and Kisame vanished in a flock of crows.

The last thing anyone on saw was a stray crow's feather floating in front of their faces.

---------------------------------

Tsunade sighed. She was sifting through a huge file filled with info on the Akatsuki. Recently, information on them was scarce. She couldn't find anything that might lead to their next move, and the only pattern she could see was that Deidara from the Hidden Rock kept getting himself injured almost-

Wait, injured? Tsunade quickly flipped through Deidara's file. She was right, the blonde nin was injured drastically almost every encounter he was faced with. Injuries needed to be healed. Medical nin were usually needed to heal injuries. And the Akatsuki needed powerful ninja.

And she had just sent one of the strongest and best medical nin in the century straight into their clutches.

She was so angry with herself that she didn't notice when Shizune entered, blissfully unaware of her Hokage's mood.

"I got the medical information you wanted," Shizune said, placing a file on Tsunade's desk, not noticing Tsunade's dangerously clenched fists. "It's all right here, and-"

"_Shizune!_" Lady Tsunade exploded, startling her older apprentice. "Send a retrieval team after Team Kakashi! And get me some damn sake _now!_"

Shizune stumbled out of the office. "Y-yes, Lady Tsunade!"

Tsunade sighed, trying and failing to keep calm. Those idiots had better be all right.

_Sakura_ had better be all right.

----------------------------------

Kisame grunted as he adjusted the unconscious kunoichi on his shoulder. It wasn't incredibly necessary, it was just more comfortable. Personally, Kisame was surprised at how easily they took down the Leaf shinobi. He had expected a challenge, not this child's play. Itachi placed them under a genjutsu and they were down. Sad, really.

He and Itachi arrived at their base at the edge of lightning country. It had taken them less than a day and they were spent. While Kisame dropped Sakura off in her room, Itachi went to his and collapsed on his bed.

His genjutsu had taken a lot out of him. He had to make it so that even Kakashi wouldn't be able to tell it was a genjutsu at first. Of, course, that was tiring. Not to mention the long journey back to base.

Itachi rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Why did he think that after Orochimaru was dead, things would be so much simpler? If anything, things were more complicated.

-----------------------------------

Sakura shot bolt upright in her bed. It was pitch black, and she couldn't see anything. She groped around for a light switch, not seeming to find one. Slowly, she climbed out of the bed and felt along the walls for a window, or a door--something! When her fingers hit a piece of metal, the lights came on.

Sakura cursed as her eyes adjusted to the light. When the spots vanished, she looked around the room. It was fairly big, although scarce in furniture. There was a closet, a table and chair, and the bed she woke up in. There was an open door off to the side that led to a bathroom.

And then it all came rushing back-- the mission, Sasuke's attack, Itachi's genjutsu. She cursed herself for getting caught so easily. But she didn't even realize she was in a genjutsu either. Wasn't that one of her jutsu specialties, too?

She ran her hands over the walls lightly, using a little bit of chakra to search for a door out of here. She found one, but the problem was that it was lined with chakra. If she tried to open it, she would probably kill herself.

'_It's still worth a shot,'_ Inner said suddenly.

_Where were you when I was being put under a genjutsu?_

'_Ah…I plead the fifth.'_

_I'd kill you if I could_, Sakura said savagely. Inner didn't respond.

Sakura sighed and went to take a shower. Letting the water run over her, she let go of all her tension, enjoying the bath. She scrubbed the grime off and watched the dirty water swirl down the drain. She stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself. She looked around and realized she didn't have a change of clothes.

Great. She stepped back into the room and checked the closet. She stared in disbelief at the outfit neatly hung up before her.

"No way," she growled. "They _can't_ be serious. They expect me to _wear_ this?"

It was a mesh cloth shirt and pants, with an Akatsuki cloak next to it. A new pair of shoes was at the bottom of the closet, along with a bag of toiletries. Sakura grabbed the items in the closet, leaving the black and red cloak behind.

A few minutes later, Sakura looked at herself in the mirror, deciding she didn't look half bad. In Akatsuki clothes, anyway.

"I see you're settled," said a feminine voice. Sakura whipped around. She hadn't even _sensed_ her. "Good," the woman continued. "It will make adjusting easier."

Sakura studied the blue-haired woman. She wore a flower clip and her lip was pierced. She didn't have her headband visible, so Sakura had no idea what village she used to belong to. She seemed a little depressed, but her eyes were unfathomable.

"I'm Konan, by the way," she said. Sakura nodded warily. "Come with me," Konan said, walking out. "Pein wants to talk with you." Sakura started to follow, when Konan added, "And you might want to put on your cloak. It's kind of cold outside."

"I'll pass," Sakura said dryly. Konan shrugged and continued walking.

Outside of the room, Sakura had to hold in a shiver. Konan was right, it _was_ cold. But Sakura wasn't about to admit it. She followed Konan down several hallways, giving her a chance to look through plenty of windows. Not that there was much to see. Rushing torrents of water obscured every inch of visibility. And the walls must have been soundproof, because Sakura couldn't hear the waterfall.

So much for her screaming plan.

Outside of Pein's office, Konan and Sakura stopped. "You must always refer to Pein as Pein-sama," Konan reminded her. "Don't keep eye contact for very long, and don't make him angry. It would be nice to have another girl around here," she said, smiling sadly. Sakura immediately felt a surge of sympathy for the missing-nin.

Konan opened the door and Sakura was faced with the rest of the Akatsuki. Kisame and Itachi were in one corner, while Deidara and another member with a mask over his face were in another. Pein was behind his desk, looking expectantly at Sakura. Sakura felt the man's gaze unnerving.

"Pein-sama," Konan murmured, moving to stand behind him.

"_This_ is the new member you were talking about, un?" Deidara asked disbelievingly. "This kunoichi killed Sasori, un!"

"Shut up, retard," Sakura said, her temper flaring. "I'm just here until I realize why I've been kidnapped."

"Don't call me a retard, un!" Deidara shot back, taking a step forward. "This is an accent, un!"

"Never heard of an 'un' accent before, blondie," Sakura snapped.

"Calm down, kunoichi," Kisame said. Sakura shot a hateful glare at him, making him flinch.

"Don't you start, fish-face," Sakura said, furious. "You want me to kick your butt a second time?"

"Silence, all of you," Pein said, his voice icy. Everyone stopped and looked at him. "You're acting like children. Deidara, Tobi, Kisame, please step out for a moment. I need to have a talk with our future member." The three Akatsuki left silently.

Sakura glared at Pein, refusing to be unnerved by his icy glare. "Why am I here?" Sakura asked. "And why did you call me 'future member'?"

"I figured that was obvious," Itachi said. "Pein-sama wants to induct you into the Akatsuki. I thought your mental capacity was greater than that."

"You-" Sakura started angrily.

"Enough," Pein said. Sakura gave one last glare at the Uchiha before giving the Terrorist leader her attention. "You have two options," Pein said. "One, you can join us and live; or two, you can have information about your village tortured out of you and die."

"Or three," Sakura said, fusing her fist full of chakra. "None of the above!" She lunged at Pein, but was easily thrown backwards. However, she had the satisfaction of hearing Pein's knuckle break.

"I suggest you cooperate," Pein continued, rubbing his injured hand. "Otherwise I will make your death slow and incredibly painful, kunoichi."

Sakura was about to shoot an angry retort when she saw Konan's pained expression. Not having the heart to cause the woman more pain, Sakura swallowed her pride and sat in the chair in front of Pein's desk.

"What do you want me to do?" Sakura asked.

'_Sakura! What the hell are you doing, baka?!' _Inner said in a panicked voice.

'_Shut up, Inner,'_ Sakura commanded her counterpart. _'I know what I'm doing.'_ Inner Sakura turned to the process of smacking her head on a wall.

Pein smiled. It looked very odd on his pierced face. "Glad to know you're cooperating. You will work with Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame for the time being." Konan looked as relieved as Itachi was livid, but neither made any comments. Pein waved at Itachi and Sakura. "You are dismissed."

The two left without another word.

………………………………...................

**A/N:** Sakura, what are you doing?!?!? Why are you going to the dark side??!?!?!

I wish I knew at this point…T_T


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm praying I'm going to get some Ita/Saku in here soon.

Keep the reviews coming!

………………………………......................

It was only after Pein's door closed that Sakura realized that she didn't know how to get back to her room.

_Oh, well,_ she thought. _Let's make the best of this. I can explore and find out some information for Konoha. Maybe I can even figure out where I am._

'_Fat chance,'_ Inner snorted.

_Shut up._

With new determination, Sakura set out to explore her new home. Of course, she quickly became lost. The passageways seemed to change, and if she started from the kitchen, made two lefts and a right, if she turned around and made a left and two rights, she'd end up in the library or some other room. Finally, Deidara took pity on her.

"It's because you don't have a ring, un," he said, laughing at her. She had just walked into the kitchen after about the third time.

Sakura tried to look like she wasn't totally lost. "What now?"

"You need a ring, un," he repeated. "The walls will shift unless you have on a ring. And if you drop anything on the floor outside of a room, un, it will vanish. Just FYI, un."

"Great," Sakura moaned. Trying to spare her some pride, Deidara slipped out of the kitchen, leaving Sakura to angst in peace.

Sakura reached into the fridge and grabbed an apple. She couldn't eat much of it, though. Her fist crunched it into pieces in an instant, and the applesauce left over wasn't particularly appetizing. Sakura rinsed off her hand and tried again. The result was much the same with an orange.

Sakura blew her bangs out of her face, exasperated. "Come on, Sakura, calm down."

She was able to pick up a mango. Just barely. Grinning, she peeled it and was about to take a bite when it was whisked out of her hand. She turned her head and saw a kunai, pinning the juicy fruit to the wall. Sakura slowly turned her head the other way and saw Itachi and Kisame standing at the wall. Kisame was wearing his ever-present sneer.

"Having a bit of trouble with your snack, kunoichi?" he asked, shark teeth showing.

"Actually, fish-face," Sakura said sweetly, grabbing the kunai and yanking it out of the wall. "I was going to offer you some." She flicked the weapon, sending a pound of the dripping, orange fruit straight into Kisame's surprised face.

"You're dead, kunoichi," he growled, wiping the juice out of his stinging eyes.

"We have a message," Itachi said, ignoring their murderous glares. "Your initiation will be tomorrow at dawn, and if you aren't ready, we're ordered to drag you out of bed, regardless if you're decent or not."

Sakura grimaced. "What a pleasant thought to sleep on."

"I wouldn't recommend sleeping," Itachi said. At that moment, Sakura would've sworn she'd seen Itachi smile, but the moment passed.

Sakura gave Itachi one last curious look before reaching to grab another mango. "It that it, then?" She didn't expect an answer. There wasn't one.

----------------------------------

Tsunade burst into the hospital room. Naruto and Sasuke broke off their conversation and Kakashi looked up from his pervy book as she began assaulting them with questions.

"Who attacked you? Where's Sakura? Do you know if she's all right? How do you feel? Where would they have taken her? Who else was involved?" Tsunade took a breath and continued, "I know now that the information from your mission was false, and we practically handed you all to the Akatsuki. I just wish we knew where Sakura was or that we had contact with her."

Kakashi, his face ashen, answered, "It was Itachi and Kisame. We don't know where Sakura is, nor if she's all right. I don't think anyone else was involved. But one thing's for sure--this was premeditated."

Sasuke's face hardened. "You're right. There was no way that was a coincidence. And even if it was, Itachi probably would have taken Naruto and killed the rest of us. Why Sakura? Her medical abilities?"

Tsunade nodded. "That's what I was thinking. A strong medical ninja like Sakura would strengthen the Akatsuki's ranks."

"Sakura would never join those terrorists!" Naruto said angrily. "She wouldn't…" He trailed off.

"Not willingly, maybe, Naruto," Kakashi said. "But she would if it meant protecting her village--and you. Maybe she could convince them to not go after you, for a while, at least." Naruto remained silent, his fists clenched, staring at his knees.

"This is bad," Tsunade muttered, "We need to find Sakura, and fast. The more time she's there, the more susceptible she is to-"

"Stop," Sasuke said, holding up his hand. "We know. Just…stop." He dropped his hand before anyone realized it was shaking.

He _hated_ this feeling of…not knowing. He _didn't_ hate the girl, no matter how annoying she was. But he was concerned for his comrade. He didn't want to see her hurt.

"Goddamn, Akatsuki," Naruto growled. "Why'd you take Sakura? You're gonna pay!" He glared out the window. "I swear, you're gonna pay!"

-----------------------------------

Sakura, by some miracle, found herself in front of her room. She recognized it from the dent she put into it when she left her room--was it only a few hours ago? Yesterday? She stepped inside and saw Deidara crouched over her bed.

"Deidara!" she said loudly. He jumped and whipped around, a half-formed figurine in his hands.

"S-Sakura!" He tried to hide the clay behind his back. "W-what are you doing here?"

Sakura frowned. "This is my room. What are you…" Her eyes narrowed as she saw her mattress overturned. "Were you about to put a bomb under my bed?"

"Under your mattress, actually…"

Sakura's eye twitched. She stepped inside the room, chakra to her fists. "You're dead, blondie."

Deidara pocketed his clay and backed away. "C-calm down, kunoichi. N-nothing to fight about is there?"

"Oh, no," Sakura said, giving him a death glare. "But you're going to die anyways!" The tone of her voice made Deidara freeze, not giving him enough time to react when she attacked. There was something almost…maniacal about her.

Deidara went headfirst into the wall outside her door. A kick to the chest shot him all the way down the long hall and through the wooden door, which shattered on impact. Deidara went flying, rolling and tumbling through the dirt while Sakura ran after him.

It was a training ground. A wide open space with trees tall enough to avoid attacks, but useless after three hits. And Deidara was right in the middle of it. Sakura cracked her knuckles. This was going to be fun.

-------------------------------------

The tremors of an earthquake made Kisame stop polishing his precious Samehada and look around. They were outside of the base, taking a moment to relax. "Did you feel that?" Kisame asked. Itachi nodded and walked over to the edge of the cliff and peered over.

"Look's like Deidara got into a fight," he said, feeling a stronger tremor. "And it doesn't look like he's winning."

With that, Itachi was thrown backwards as a large bomb went off on the sparring ground.

-----------------------------------

Sakura smashed her fist into the ground and watched as Deidara flew up into the sky. She leaped up at him, intending to deal the final blow and finish the fight. Turning to face her, she saw with shock the clay face of Deidara, grinning gruesomely. She quickly did a substitution jutsu, but she wasn't fast enough not to get scorched.

The bomb went off and Sakura fell to the ground, a few burn marks on her arms and legs. The mesh outfit was slightly on fire, and she smacked it out. Deidara appeared from his hiding place behind a boulder, grinning triumphantly.

"I guess I win, un," he said, reaching to help her up. To his surprise, her pout turned into a silly grin, and she vanished, leaving a charred log in her place.

"No," Sakura said, appearing behind him, a kunai to his neck and pressed to his stomach. "I believe you mean _I_ win." Deidara bristled, but when she pressed the kunai closer to his Adam's apple, he sighed.

"I give up, un," he mumbled.

"Good." Sakura removed her kunai and stepped away.

"That wound you gave me earlier hurts," he said, holding out his arm. The arm was deeply sliced and had a kunai stuck into it, held on by a sliver of skin. It was bleeding very badly.

"Deidei, you _baka_," Sakura growled, carefully removing the kunai. She began healing his arm. "You should've dodged that kunai. Not let it slice through your arm like that. You look like you lost a pint of blood!"

"I know," he sighed. "Stop calling me Deidei. And I'm probably going to pass out when you're done, un."

"Baka."

"What's going on?" Sakura turned her head to the source of the new voice. Tobi was coming outside through the hole Deidara had helped her make earlier.

"Deidei over here is about to pass out," she said, finishing her healing. Deidara swayed for a moment and then crumpled on the ground. "Help me carry this lummox in, Tobi-san." The masked ninja hurried to oblige. Together, they carried the unconscious Deidara to his room.

Placing him on the bed, Sakura told Tobi, "Don't let him walk around until tomorrow. He needs to rest. And take away his clay. The last thing he needs to play with are bombs."

"Okay, Sakura-chan," Tobi nodded. "Tobi is a good boy, so he will listen!"

"Good to know." Sakura shot a glance at the bomb-maker. "Tell the baka not to overexert himself."

"Okay."

Sakura stepped out into the hallway and immediately crashed into Uchiha Itachi. For once, Kisame wasn't with him. Sakura glared up at his silent face, clutching her slightly bleeding nose.

"Aren't you going to say something?" she asked, sounding obnoxiously nasal.

"Was there something I was supposed to say you?" he replied, amused.

"You frickin' gave me a nosebleed!"

"And? Do you want me to give you a get-well card?"

"You-you…! You--_bastard!_" Sakura pushed past him, swearing under her breath.

Itachi watched her run. She had called him a bastard because he hadn't apologized for _her_ bumping into _him?_

Why did she bring out the worst in him? He didn't usually act this way. And he didn't understand why Pein had put her with him and Kisame. They were fine working by themselves. But he didn't even know why he was angry!

He continued on his way, shaking his head. Complications. Exactly what he needed.

------------------------------------

Sakura cleaned up her nose (she found her room again) and glared at the mirror. There were the beginning of shadows under her eyes, and she wondered how the day became so stressful. The fight with Deidei had let her go all out, at least for a little while.

_Deidei,_ she thought. _That's a nice nickname. I'll call him that, then._

"You really ought to lock your door." Sakura looked into the mirror again and saw Itachi standing in the doorway. She whipped around.

"I _would_, seeing as I'm staying here with a bunch of terrorists," she snapped. "Except for the tiny fact that _there's no lock!_"

"You say that like it's my fault."

"I don't care! Why are you in my room, anyway?" She watched Itachi consider his answer.

"I'm not sure. I'm sorry."

"Good. Get out." Sakura stomped past him and threw herself down on her bed. "I wanna go to sleep."

In response, she was yanked up by her wrists and thrown against the wall. She felt her shoulder dislocate and she bit back a scream. She would _not_ look weak--not here. Not again.

Itachi crouched down in front of her. "Do you know why you're really here?"

"No," she growled. "Are you going to tell me?" She glared at him as his face twisted into a grimace.

"You're here because I recommended you. Showing me disrespect makes me look bad."

Sakura resisted the urge to spit in his face. "And how the hell do you expect me _not_ to show you disrespect?"

"Figure it out." With that, he got up and left.

"Damn Uchihas," Sakura got her feet and righted her shoulder. "I hate them all. Bastards, both of them."

'_No, you don't. You like Sasuke.'_

_Childhood crush. Ancient history. Shut up, Inner._

'_No. What is with you? Why are you acting like this? What did he do to you?'_

_He's just as much as an idiot as his brother. Stay out of my business!_

'_I'm trying to talk sense here. Cut me some slack.'_

_No._

'_Suit yourself. Be miserable for the rest of your life. See if I care.'_

_You will. You're _me_._

Inner didn't answer. Sakura didn't want her to. It was her problem if she wanted to hate the Uchihas. And in the meantime, she needed to figure out a way to contact Konoha. She was at risk the longer she was here, and she needed to get home and help protect everyone.

_Or should I do that from here?_

_I suppose it's possible. Pein and the Uchiha want me here for a reason, so maybe I can use that to my advantage. I have access to all the information in the Akatsuki--once I'm initiated. Maybe I can threaten to give all that information to Konoha unless they leave the Leaf alone. Maybe I can keep Naruto safe at the same time…_

Sakura sank to her knees. She had no choice. She had to join the Akatsuki. And leave her village forever.

--Before dawn the next day---

Itachi stood over the kunoichi's sleeping figure. It was nearly dawn, and he hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep. Everyone else was waiting for him to bring the kunoichi down, and he wasn't about to get in trouble. He started to shake the girl.

She wasn't about to wake up. He slung the girl over his shoulder and started walking away. Mercifully, she was fully dressed. When they were about halfway there, Sakura started to open her eyes.

"Wha-?" she asked, groggy. "Where am I?"

"You're going to your Akatsuki initiation." Itachi wasn't looking at her, but he could feel the dawning comprehension on her face.

"Hey!" Sakura was fully awake now. "Put me down!" Itachi obliged and she fell with a thud. "I said _put me down_, you idiot. Not drop. _Put me down. _Jeez, are _all_ Uchihas thick?!"

Itachi put his hand on her arm. For a moment, Sakura thought he was apologizing. For a moment. The motion of being dragged snapped her out of that.

"You weren't moving, and we're already late," Itachi said, ignoring her spluttered objections. "It's your fault, not mine." Sakura stumbled to her feet, trying to get her footing as Itachi walked faster.

Within moments, they reached some closed doors. They were so tall and looming, Sakura felt very small. Itachi ran his fingers down one of the doors, and they slowly swung open inwards. The rest of the Akatsuki was waiting inside. Pein was standing on top of a stone pillar.

"You're late," Pein said. Sakura suddenly felt very, very afraid.

-------------------------------------

"Pakkun, do you have a scent?" Kakashi asked.

"No," Pakkun grunted. "It's rained and I don't know how I can get a scent. They made sure she didn't touch anything, so this is impossible."

Naruto sighed. "We've got to keep looking." He couldn't lose Sakura, not so soon after he got Sasuke back. "We have to."

………………………………........................

A/N: I suppose that chapter sort of dragged on a bit. And sorry about the lack of fluff. It sort of twisted away from it. T_T

*sighs dramatically* I wish I could control my own story. *starts bawling* TT_TT


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: To all my reveiwers: thankyouthnakyouthankyou!!!! I'm going to try to answer some questions, and yes, there will be more unanswered questions. XD

* * *

"Pakkun, any trace?" Kakashi asked for the umpteenth time.

"Kakashi, we've been at it for a while," Pakkun grunted. "This is pointless."

"But we _have_ to find her!" Naruto exclaimed. "They could be torturing her now, for all we know!"

"Or worse," Sasuke muttered darkly. Naruto shivered at his tone.

_If anything,_ Naruto thought, _the teme just became even _more_ of an emo since Sakura was kidnapped._

* * *

**One week earlier…**

Pein looked down at the slightly quivering Sakura. "Stop looking like a frightened rabbit," he snapped. Sakura instantly froze. With an uncharacteristic snort, he gestured for Konan to continue.

"There will be three stages to the initiation," she began. "First, there will be a mental session. Afterwards, you will receive a short break before a battle. Then, if you survive, you will sign your allegiance to the Akatsuki in your own blood." Sakura fought to hold in a whimper. _"If you survive"?!_ Did this organization want her, or not?!

"Are you ready to proceed?" Pein asked. Sakura gave a stiff nod and tried to look like she could care less. Konan exited the room and Sakura followed, hoping her knees wouldn't give out.

Sakura had never felt so nervous in her entire life. The only thoughts that were running through her mind were not comforting. _Am I doing the right thing? What if something goes wrong? What of I never see anyone in Konoha ever again?_ She took a deep breath, then another, using one of the meditation skills lady Tsunade had taught her.

_Relax,_ she told herself. _Everything will go fine. I'm doing this to protect Konoha and everyone in it. Relax. Just think of it as a mission._

Konan led Sakura to a room at the very end of a dark hallway. These doors were just as ominous as the last ones she's passed through. Inside, it was empty, save for a chair and a few candles. They flickered eerily, and Sakura had to suppress another shiver.

"Sit down, Sakura," Konan said. "It won't be long." Sakura sat and Konan closed the door. After a few moments, Sakura glared at the wall to the left of her.

"You can come out now, Itachi," she hissed. "I'm not in the mood for games." Itachi stepped out from the shadows. It was almost as if he'd stepped through the wall.

"You noticed me sooner than I thought," he said, mildly surprised. "You just may survive."

"Enough with the creepy nonsense," she snapped. "Just move on with the test." Itachi activated his Sharingan.

"Mangekyou Sharingan!"

Sakura screamed as a thousand images of her friends, trying to defend her, died one by one. Neji…his eyes bleeding as he coughed up blood. Tenten…her weapons lying useless beside her mangled body. Ino…her beautiful blonde hair drenched in blood, a long gash splitting her body almost in two. Temari…her fan split into a million shards, blood staining it red.

Hinata…Kiba…Akamaru…Lee…Shikamaru…Sasuke…Kakashi…Lady Tsunade…

"No, no," Sajura moaned, clutching her head. "Stop it. Make it stop."

Naruto was the worst. The Kyuubi demon, breaking free of it's seal. It started ripping through Naruto's abdomen, leaving the demon to run rampant while Naruto lay, bloody and broken, on the ground.

"Stop it!" Sakura screamed. "_Stop it now! Make it stop! Stop iiiiit!!!_"

'_Hold on, Sakura,'_ Inner said, forcing the images out of Sakura's mind. Itachi sensed his hold on the girl was slipping, and pushed the images back into her mind. Inner only fought all the harder. Finally, Sakura herself regained her composure and pushed Itachi out of her mind completely.

He stumbled back at the force of her mind blocks, ending the jutsu. Sakura remained where she was, on her hands and knees, gasping. She was trying very hard not to cry.

_I'm not going to be forgetting that anytime soon,_ she thought grimly.

"Get up." She glanced up and saw Itachi staring down at her. It was a look mixed with disdain and--was that respect? "Get up," he repeated. "You pass." It took a moment for that to register in Sakura's mind. When it did, she smiled.

"Well, that's good then." Slowly, she got to her feet. Her legs felt like gelatin under her. "So I fight one of you, and then I sign my name in blood, and that's it?" she asked. Itachi gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"That's the idea," he said quietly.

"Moving on, then," Sakura said confidently. She turned towards the door, but Itachi put his hand on her shoulder, effectively stopping her. She glanced back at him, and was surprised to see an incredulous look on his face.

"You can't be serious," he said, disbelieving. "You can barely stand, let alone fight."

"Why, Itachi," Sakura said, feigning shock. "Is that _concern_ I hear?" Instantly, his face went blank.

"I'm just saying I would rather not see you kill yourself from overexertion," he said, his voice a monotone.

"So much for feelings," Sakura muttered, shaking out of his grip. "I can walk. Watch me," she added.

Three steps later, Sakura was feeling dizzy, but she was determined not to let Itachi get the better of her. She started walking faster, more confidently. Black spots quickly swarmed her vision, and she felt herself stumble. She braced herself for the feel of the ground, rushing up to meet her.

Nothing happened.

Instead, Sakura felt herself being pulled back upright by arms that were not her own. Her mind went blank as she realized what happened. Itachi had stopped her from falling. She stumbled again and fell, face first, against his chest. Itachi froze for a moment, and he started to move his arms-

_Around me? What is he doing?!_ More out of surprise than anything, Sakura gasped, and pushed away.

A deep blush crawled up Sakura's face as she stared at Itachi, who looked even more like stone now than he ever did before. _Stupid,_ she thought angrily. _Why did I push away?_

'_That's what I want to know!'_ wailed Inner. _'If you'd _waited_ a minute before pushing him away, you might've scored _this_ hottie!'_

_Shut up, Inner, I'm trying to think._

'_You're a complete idiot! Why are we even the same person?!'_

_I said, _shut up_._

Inner remained quiet and Sakura continued to stare embarrassedly at Itachi, who didn't even seem to be breathing. "Um," Sakura started, her blush becoming deeper, "Itachi, I, uh-"

Konan burst through the door at that moment, saving Sakura from answering. "I trust that you are finished, Sakura?" she asked. Sakura nodded.

"I'm fine," Sakura said. She took a few steps forward. Black spots swarmed across her vision and she welcomed the journey into unconsciousness.

* * *

Itachi watched as Sakura fell to the ground. This time, he didn't catch her. Briefly, he wondered why he _did_ catch her before. He had no reason to, his body just _moved_. And she pushed him away when he was just pulling her off of him…

He shook these thoughts out of his head as Konan said, "Poor thing, she must be exhausted. Itachi, take her back to her room." He shot an alarmed look at Konan, but she had already gone.

With a sigh, Itachi slung the kunoichi over his back and began walking towards her room. All the while, he was painfully aware of her every breath on his neck, warm and tickling, making his hair stand up. It made him feel uncomfortable, but strangely pleasant. Once again, he was wondering about this kunoichi.

"You're very confusing," he said aloud, not caring that she couldn't hear him. "You make the worst come out in me, and I'm completely at a blank as to why that is. You're a very intriguing girl, Haruno Sakura."

"Itachi-san," Deidara greeted, exiting the library. Itachi grunted in response and continued walking. "Whoa, un." Deidara's eyes widened as he saw the unconscious Sakura. "What happened?"

On usual circumstances, Itachi would ignore the annoying blonde until he tired of his pestering questions. But Itachi was feeling differently than he had in a while, so he answered, "She exhausted herself after the first part." Quirking his lips slightly, he added, "As I recall, you did as well, Deidara."

Deidara shuddered and muttered, "Don't remind me, un. Well, I'll leave you to that."

"Thank you, Pein-sama." Itachi continued walking, ignoring the glaring eyes behind him. "And, Pein-sama," he added. "You don't need to worry about anything. It's well in hand."

"See to it that it is, Itachi."

* * *

Sakura groaned, cracking one eye open. The feeling of swaying as she was carried was making her sick. "What happened?" she groaned, moving up into a straighter position. _Stupid terrorists._

"I see you're awake," a voice said. "You mustn't tire yourself out like that. It only causes problems for me."

Sakura jerked back, realizing Itachi was carrying her. Sadly for her, all she succeeded in doing was falling halfway--he was holding onto her legs quite firmly, so she ended up dangling behind his legs (A/N: XD I love comedy).

"Let me down," she moaned, blood rushing to her head. Itachi complied, letting her legs drop. Sakura groaned again, waiting for her head to clear.

"That was a silly move," Itachi told her. "You could have hurt yourself."

"Stop acting like you care," she snapped, sitting up. "Because I know you don't."

With a sigh, Itachi pulled Sakura to her feet. "Can you walk?" It wasn't even a question, he said it so coldly. Sakura held in a shiver before taking a few, more tentative, steps.

"I think so," she mumbled.

"Good. You'll be at a disadvantage if you have problems doing the basic movements. Perhaps you should train harder," he added with a light smirk.

Sakura felt a blush creep up her cheeks. "What are you saying?" she snapped, giving him her best death glare. He seemed unfazed.

"I'm saying, after your initiation, I'll be training you." He turned and walked away, leaving a very flabbergasted Sakura behind him.

* * *

At dawn, Sakura was up. Konan had stopped by with a bag full of weapons a little while earlier, with the gratifying news that Sakura could use whichever ones she chose. Sakura chose a lighter arsenal; a pair of black gloves she found, shuriken, kunai, paper bombs, and wire. Decked out in the traditional mesh clothes, she was ready.

Like in the last part of the initiation, Itachi came to fetch her.

"Well, at least you don't have to carry me this time," she pointed out when he arrived looking a bit sick.

"No," he agreed, stepping towards her. "I _don't _have to." With that, he picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder. Sakura didn't register this for a moment.

"Hey!" she spluttered angrily. "Why did you pick me up? I _can_ walk, you know!"

"It was a whim," he stated, keeping a strong hold on her as she fought.

"This is embarrassing and unnecessary, Itachi!"

"Exactly all the more reason to do it."

"Is this supposed to be some sick training?"

"Perhaps."

"This is sexual harassment."

"You are among, as you put it, 'terrorists', are you not?"

Sakura was silent as she tried to remember when she had said that. Was she talking in her sleep? Did she say it at all? When he was in her mind--she tried very hard not to let those memories resurface--did he see it then?

Itachi stopped and set her on her feet, just a few feet from a pair of doors, just as eerie as the last few ones Sakura had recently passed through. Sakura gave him a questioning look, but he motioned for her to be silent. He moved his hands upwards, and that was all she saw before she blacked out.

A few moments later, she opened her eyes again and saw a seal on her arm. It was the symbol for chakra surrounded by a sealing circle.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"Pein-sama asked me to seal off half of your chakra," he explained. "With the chakra control you do, you might kill your opponent. Pein would prefer not to lose any more members, if possible."

"But-"

"Silence," he ordered. "It's time."

With those words, the looming doors opened. Sakura stepped into the sunshine to see a large training ground area. It was more like an arena, it was twice as big--at least-- of the training ground she had beaten Deidara in.

The rest of the Akatsuki were waiting on the left side of the arena. Deidara came down, waving.

"Hey, Sakura!" he called. "Are you ready to fight, un?"

"Yeah, I guess," she said, looking around. "Are you my opponent?"

"No, little blossom," a deep voice said. "That would be me." Sakura glanced up and saw Kisame giving her a confident smile. He ended up leering, like always.

"You have _got_ to be _kidding me,_" she grumbled, disgusted. "I've already beaten him before."

"That time you had all your chakra," Kisame reminded her, looking smug. "With only half of it, I expect a surefire victory."

"Half of my chakra is enough to kill _you_, fish-face!"

"Enough," Pein said, silencing everyone. Sakura and Kisame moved to their places in the arena while the other Akatsuki moved away.

"There are only two rules," Konan announced. "You may not kill your opponent. Second, you have until dawn tomorrow to finish your fight."

Sakura cracked her knuckles while Kisame swung his sword. "Hey, Kisame," Sakura asked. "How do you like your food? Stir fried, roasted, or raw?"

"Fried in oil," he growled. "Why do you ask?"

"When I'm done kicking your ass here--" She gave him a menacing look "--I'm going to cook you up!"

"I highly doubt that, blossom," Kisame scoffed.

"We'll see, fish face!"

"Begin!" Pein said.

'_SHANNARO!!'_ Inner cried. _'LITTLE FISH, YOU'RE _SO_ GOING DOWN!!'_

_For once, Inner, I agree!_

Kisame made the first move, moving almost faster than Sakura could see. She barely managed to perform a substitution jutsu before Kisame sliced her in half. Perched in a nearby tree, she watched as Kisame glared down at the wooden log he had chopped. She sent a few clones to throw kunai at him from other directions, and then she worked on a clone that would last a bit longer than her bunshin counterparts. Taking the bait, Kisame went in the direction of the kunai thrown at him. _Like a rookie,_ Sakura thought distastefully. Going back to her clone, she thought a bit harder about how she would manage this. With only half of her chakra accessible, the risks were enormous. Not to mention she was about a third through her chakra, and this new clone would drain her. It was worth the risk, though. She called off her bunshin, and sent the new clone to fight Kisame.

"Finally came out, little blossom?" he growled, lunging again. The real Sakura watched with wonder on how gracefully her clone dodged, then delivered a swift kick to his stomach. She grinned as Kisame doubled over in pain. Her clone then became absorbed in hand-to hand combat with Kisame, expertly dodging his gigantic sword.

_It's almost majestic, _Sakura thought, looking at this unfold with awe. Of course, her chakra was draining rapidly, so time was of the essence. Pulling what chakra was left into two fists, Sakura leaped from the tree.

"Now fish-face!" she yelled. "See what I'm _really_ made of!" His shocked expression was the last thing she saw before her fists connected.

Together with her clone, she attacked. Kisame's right arm and several of his ribs shattered, sending Samehada flying. His left leg snapped in two places, breaking another one of his ribs as well. Kisame went flying into the forest, stooping against a large tree. Quickly, he limped out of sight, leaving his sword behind him. Sakura sighed and the clone vanished.

By this time, it was sundown. None of the Akatsuki were in sight. Samehada was still jammed into the ground, glinting in the setting sun. Sakura felt nostalgia shoot through her heart. Zabuza's sword was left standing the same way…

She yanked the sword out of the ground, almost falling over at it's weight and amount of chakra stored inside. Her chakra reserves were almost entirely depleted, but she drew out a little chakra to her hands. Instantly, she could hold it a little better. If this sword was about half it's actual size, she might be able to swing it much better. She might even be able to use it!

Newly uplifted, she went in search of Kisame. Near the front of the forest, Sakura used the wire and paper bombs to make a net, in case Kisame managed to escape her. Dragging Samehada behind her, she scoured the forest, following the trail of blood Kisame left behind him.

'_We're so in,'_ Inner said smugly. _'This is going to get us into the Akatsuki, no problem.'_

_How again is that a good thing?_

'_Um, hello? Protecting Naruto, remember?'_

_Oh, yeah…_

'_Not to mention,' _Inner continued slyly, _'that Uchiha, Sasuke's brother. And his lush hair…'_

_Please stop talking now, Inner._

'_And his dark eyes, and his smooth skin, and his sexy bod-'_

_Inner! Shut UP!_

Even though she was talking to herself, Sakura blushed nonetheless. _I can't be distracted by the Uchiha now,_ she told herself sternly. _I have to focus on defeating Kisame._

"Sakura…" a weak voice croaked. A chill went down her spine. She knew that voice. It wasn't Kisame's, it was-

Sakura ran towards the source of the voice, pulling Samehada with her. In a clearing, the trail of blood led up to a seriously injured Naruto. His arm and leg were definitely broken, Sakura noticed.

She ran up to her fallen comrade. "Naruto, what happened?" she demanded. She could barely make out his face in the darkness.

"Kisame, he attacked," Naruto said, then coughed up a mouthful of blood. His eyes were shut. "Help me," he murmured, coughing up more blood. Sakura desperately wanted to heal her friend, but her chakra reserves were virtually empty. She had none to spare.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," she whispered, on the brink of tears. "I don't have any chakra left." Naruto stiffened.

"You can't?" he snapped, all pain from his voice gone. Sakura recoiled.

"Naruto," she gasped. "What-"

Naruto shot his good arm out, burying a kunai in Sakura's torso. If she hadn't seen his arm move, she could have had the kunai slice open her stomach. Instead, it cut her side. Deeply, but not as serious as it could have been. She gasped in pain, leaping back. Naruto got to his feet, opening his eyes. They were filled with such hate, and they were definitely not Naruto's eyes.

"Kisame," Sakura hissed. She pulled the kunai from her side, grimacing as she positioned Samehada in front of her. "Get ready to die."

* * *

A/N: End chapter four! If I wrote this right, you should be thinking the following:

What's Pein's plan?

How is Itachi involved?

Will there ever be fluff?

_What's going to happen next?!?!_

If not, tell me what I need to improve!

(PS--Did you see your line sachiko haruki?)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Yay, chapter five is up! Sorry for the _looooooooooong_ wait. I'll work on getting even deeper into the plot in this story!

(Wait, there's a plot…?)

_Recap: _

"_Kisame," Sakura hissed. She pulled the kunai from her side, grimacing, as she positioned Samehada in front of her. "Get ready to die."_

* * *

"We'll see about that," Kisame growled. He pulled out a kunai and slashed through the air.

_A trap!,_ Sakura thought, leaping for cover. Kunai, shuriken, and concentrated torrents of water rained down everywhere, barely missing Kisame. Sakura wasn't so lucky. She screamed as the weapons struck her. Kisame watched gleefully as she got to her feet, removing shuriken from her arms, several cuts and gashes down her arms, legs, and face. Her expression showed nothing but pure hatred. Seeing this, Kisame tried to pick up his precious Samehada before she reached him.

"You're going to pay," she swore, flinging the shuriken at him. He didn't release his sword, instead choosing to let the weapons stab into his arm. The last attack transformed Kisame back into his original form, and Sakura wasted no time in knocking him senseless.

The sun was about to rise, and Sakura felt a pang of anticipation. She was almost in. _And yet,_ she thought, shouldering Samehada and dragging Kisame behind her, _I feel like I should be dreading this._

'_Why?'_ Inner asked. _'You can protect your village, get dirt on the bad guys, and score a in one fell swoop.'_

_I know, Inner, I just feel like something bad is going to happen._

'_What could possibly-'_

_No,_ Sakura thought fiercely. _Do not finish that sentence. Whenever someone says that, something bad happens immediately._

By the time the sun was clear of the horizon, Kisame was unconscious in the training arena, and Sakura was leaning against Samehada, waiting for Pein to arrive. After a short while, he did, Konan, Deidara, and Itachi with him.

"Well, well, well," he said, a hint of surprise in his voice. "You fared better than Kisame did. I expected you to be a little more injured than that."

"Whatever," Sakura said dismissively, smothering the urge to tell this pierced freak that her injuries were actually very painful, and when combined, very serious. "Just let me have my chakra back."

Something flashed in Pein's eyes, but he dismissed it, deciding that the insolent girl would learn to respect or fear him, preferably both. He gestured to Itachi, and he stepped forward. Sakura felt the familiar feeling of blacking out.

A few moments later, chakra was coursing throughout Sakura's body, healing all of her larger injuries. She would heal later, she decided. Around this time, Kisame started to stir. His eyes blinked a few times, then screwed up in pain.

"Can I get a stretcher for him, or something?" Sakura asked Pein. "I hate to help him, but I _am_ a medic, after all."

"Soon to be _our_ medic," Pein replied, an amused glint in his eyes. "Very well. Deidara, take Kisame inside. The rest of you," he ordered, "Come with me." They obediently did as they were told, but not without some indignant grumbling on Deidara's part.

Down the long hallways of the Akatsuki base, Itachi glanced back at Sakura. "You know, you don't have to carry that," he said, looking pointedly at the large sword she was now handling.

Sakura shrugged. "I'll give it back when he gets me one I can use. I like this sword."

"You're attached to another shinobi's weapon?"

"No, he's a terrorist. I have full right to relinquish his sword. Besides," she added with an evil smirk. "He can't use it now, anyway." Itachi made an odd sounding noise. It sounded like a snort. But when Sakura gave him a questioning look, he glanced away. The rest of their trip went on in silence.

Finally, they stopped in front of a pair of tall doors. _For crying out loud,_ Sakura thought, aggravated, _What is with terrorists and their looming doors? This makes what, the third time?_

'_Probably the fourth,' _Inner answered grimly.

_What happened to you?_

'_I feel like you're selling your soul to the devil.'_

_What happened to that "this will be fine" attitude?_

'_Gone with the wind.'_

"Haruno!" Pein snapped for the third time. Sakura jumped.

"Sorry, Pein-sama," she apologized, her cheeks pink.

"In the future," he said icily. "I advise you to pay closer attention." Sakura nodded furiously, and stepped inside of the room.

It was very dark, illuminated only by candles. In the center of the room, there was an open book. Sakura moved and stood in front of it. Written in blood were the names of the Akatsuki, but other than that, the book was empty.

"Write your name," Pein ordered, his voice loud and echoing in the room. Sakura bit her finger, drawing a little blood, and moved it towards the book. She hesitated. "What are you waiting for?" Pein asked, irritated at her incompliance.

"I will sign it, Pein-sama," Sakura said. "But in exchange, you swear to keep the Akatsuki out of Konoha and it's affairs."

Pein was silent for a few moments. Grudgingly, he said. "Fine. I agree to your terms."

"I have your word?"

"…You have my word."

It was then, and only then, that Sakura pressed her hand to the paper and wrote her name. As soon as it was written, the blood glowed brightly, then became normal again. She rubbed her finger against it. It didn't smudge. It was dried, imprinted into the pages.

"Haruno," came the voice of the Uchiha. "Catch." Something small was flipped into the air, and she reached up to catch it. It was a ring. She slipped it onto her right ring finger.

"Congratulations," Pein said. "You're now a member of the Akatsuki."

Sakura felt empty.

* * *

**Present day…**

Sakura twisted her ring thoughtfully. _This isn't that bad,_ she decided. _They leave me alone, for the most part, and now I have three things on Kisame._ She smiled at that last thought. She had beaten the missing-nin twice, and now she had control of his sword. She had refused to heal his arm, but said she would if he gave her another sword like Samehada. He blatantly refused, and now he was stuck with a broken arm for the next few months.

There was a knock on her door. "Haruno," Itachi called. "Get up."

"Coming," Sakura sighed. True to his word, every day for the past week, Itachi woke her up at dawn to train. The sessions could last anywhere from twenty hours to thirty minutes. And it wasn't that Sakura wasn't grateful for his training, she was. She just wished he wouldn't push her so hard.

"Haruno!"

Sakura yanked open the door to a very emotionless Uchiha. He didn't even _look_ upset that she was late, as other things could be said about his tone of voice. _Damn emotionless Uchihas._

Without saying anything, he turned on his heel and walked away, Sakura following behind. Not one word was said the entire trip to the training grounds. Not a word was said as Sakura attacked Itachi, using only her feet and bare hands. Not a word was said as Itachi dodged and blocked all of her attacks, some more easily than others. Not a word was said as he grabbed her leg and flipped her to the ground. Not a word was said as she counterattacked, lashing out with her foot, to trip him.

Sakura was getting tired of not saying anything. This was how their training sessions went, devoid of speech, unless it was Itachi telling her to correct a certain stance or attack. The one time she had attempted to speak, he left the training grounds and refused to speak to her the next day. It was tiring and the training was highly beneficial, but utterly boring to Sakura.

Itachi dodged her kick, leaping back to land on a nearby tree stump, the result of yesterday's training. "Your form is still sloppy," he informed her, watching her catch her breath. "Relax your limbs until the moment before contact, that will provide a greater amount of damage upon impact." Sakura nodded, exhausted.

'_Maybe you should ask him for a drink of water,'_ Inner suggested dryly.

_When I want an early death, _Sakura replied. _He'll kill me for even suggesting that._

'_I wonder how attractive he is when he's angry,' _Inner mused, a devious smile forming across her face. _'That ought to be interesting.'_

_Prepare my cremation urn._

"Haruno," Itachi said, watching her with concealed interest. "Are you having a conversation with yourself?"

"What?" Sakura asked, wrenching her attention back to her current tormentor. "Eh, no, I was just thinking."

"Kindly keep your thoughts at bay when you are training with me. I could kill you if you weren't paying attention."

Sakura snorted. As if he couldn't do that when she was already alert. His eyebrow quirked up, but he said nothing.

Continuing, Sakura slammed her fist into the ground, opening a crevice leading up to the stump Itachi was currently crouched on. He easily avoided that, and had to move quickly to avoid a kick to his face. Repelling Sakura, he landed on the ground, a few yards away from her.

Sakura concentrated. This was going to be difficult. She had yet to land one solid hit on him, even though her skills had greatly advanced in the past week. He could block every one of her attacks with ease, but with careful observation, she noticed he was fractionally slower with his left side. He compensated for that with his superior sharingan, but when he wasn't using it, it was almost obvious to the careful observer--which Sakura was.

Sakura raced forward, her hands poised to attack his right side. He used both arms to block, noticing the slight increase in chakra in her left fist. That was exactly what Sakura wanted. In a lightning fast move, she slammed her fist towards his left side. Her aim was minutely off, and she ended up hitting him with only half of her fist, but it was enough. His eyes widened in shock and she grinned widely.

This took about half a second.

Sakura's victory was short lived, as she found herself flying towards the walls of the compound in the next half second. Without time to right herself, she crashed into the wall, and fell to the ground. Stars spun.

'_Well, at least you got a hit on him,'_ Inner said unhelpfully.

_When my head clears, I'm going to rip you out of my conscience._

'_Eh…I'll be going now…'_

"Haruno?" She vaguely heard someone calling her name. "I didn't hit you that hard."

Itachi. "Shut up, you bastard," Sakura grumbled. "You're giving me a headache."

She heard him chuckle. It was very quiet, but Sakura didn't have time to ponder it before she passed out.

* * *

Her head lolled to the side, and Itachi shook his head. She would need a lot more training if that was all it took to knock her out. He touched his numbly throbbing side. She had managed to hit him much sooner than he expected, that was true. And he had hit her a little harder than he should have…

…Okay, a lot harder than he should have. Either way, though, Pein would be most pleased that things were going according to plan. Picking Sakura up, he slung her across his back and carried her inside. As before, Pein was standing in the hall.

"How is her training going?" he queried.

Itachi allowed a small grimace, stopping outside of Sakura's room. "She managed to hit me."

Pein's eyebrows shot up. "After only a week?"

"Her aim was off. It was a lucky shot. If she was using chakra, I would still have a few broken ribs."

"Then," Pein asked, confusion darting across his face. "Why is she unconscious?"

"I had an…unfortunate adverse reaction to her attack."

Pein smirked. "See to it that your training goes as well as it is now, then." He walked away. Itachi watched him until he was out of sight.

Itachi gave another smirk. "You can stop pretending now, Haruno. He's gone."

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes and frowned.

"Funnny," she said, sliding off his back. "I thought you didn't realize."

"I noticed when you regained consciousness," he explained. "Your breathing quickened for a moment and then became slower."

"But of course." Sakura rolled her eyes, opening the door to her room. "You're the perfect Uchiha who never misses a thing. Of course _you'd_ notice. Not like your brother."

"Sasuke?"

"What other Uchiha could I be talking about? He's the same, cold, idiotic asshole he's always been." Itachi made a strange noise again, and Sakura turned around to see him fighting with his expression. Emerald eyes became wide. "Are you _smiling?_"

"No," he turned away. Sakura grabbed his arm and he looked back at her.

"You _were_ smiling," she said, grinning. "So Uchihas aren't _completely_ emotionless. I figured. _No one_ is that-" She was abruptly cut off by Itachi. He'd silenced her mouth…

…with his.

Her eyebrows shot up, and she stood there, frozen, until he pulled away. Sakura's hand clapped over her lips, and she stared at him in shock. He brushed her cheek gently. She flinched, and he pulled away, a full blown smirk on his face.

"Of course I'm not emotionless," he said. "I'm only human."

Sakura was still in shock, so Inner decided to take control of Sakura's vocal cords. "And here I was, thinking you were a demon bastard."

Itachi chuckled darkly. "We'll see." With that, he turned and walked away. Sakura stood there for a moment longer, then darted inside her room and slammed the door behind her. She pressed her back against it and slowly sank down. The truth of what just happened now sunk in, and Sakura tried to control herself before she started hyperventilating.

"Oh. My. God…" Sakura breathed.

'_Well, think of it this way,'_ Inner said proudly. _'You now have a boyfriend. A really, really, really hot boyfriend.'_

Sakura went deep into her mind and stuffed a mental sock into her Inner's mouth. Slowly, she got to her feet and went into the bathroom. Handfuls of cold water went onto her face, one after another, but she barely realized it. What was happening? What was _going_ to happen?

And all because he'd kissed her.

_Damn_ him.

* * *

Sakura avoided Itachi as much as she possibly could for the next few days. She was the last person to enter the training field every morning, and the first one to leave when they were done. Itachi, on the other hand, kept on randomly popping up when she found herself completely alone.

"He's determined to make my life miserable and weird," Sakura confided to Konan over a cup of tea. Konan was the only person she had told about any of this.

"Sakura-chan," Konan asked. "Are you sure you aren't just upset he kissed you without telling you?" She sipped her tea and watched her friend.

"Well, yeah, I'm upset about that," she admitted. "But I thought he was the only guy here with a shred of decency!" Sakura took a long sip of tea.

"Sakura-chan," Konan said, looking at her friend curiously. "Do you like Itachi-san?"

Sakura comically spurted out her tea. Wiping her mouth, she weakly asked, "Wha?"

"Do you like Itachi-san? Is that why you're acting so negatively?"

"Ugh, no," Sakura shuddered, trying to trample down a feeling of panic. "He's a heartless lapdog of Pein's. He probably only did it because Pein-sama told him to."

Konan didn't look convinced, but she didn't press the matter further. Her ring began to glow, and she excused herself. Once she was out of sight, Sakura looked around and sighed.

_Three, two, one._

Itachi appeared in the tree over Sakura, watching as she drank her tea. She sipped her tea quietly, trying very hard not to look at him. "You, know, Uchiha," she said quietly. "This is very annoying."

"I didn't realize you found me so repulsive. I apologize." Sakura looked up at him hopefully.

"You mean you'll stop following me around?"

"No."

Sakura frowned. "Tell me the truth--is this Pein-sama's doing?"

"Whatever made you think that?"

"No heartless bastard like you would ever take interest with a girl out of the blue," she replied matter-of-factly.

"That's rather harsh, Sakura," he smirked, sitting down next to her. "And why wouldn't I like a girl? I am a boy after all."

She snorted. "Yeah, of cour-"

But her words were abruptly cut off by something soft pressed against her mouth.

* * *

Pein chuckled as Itachi stepped into his office. "Aren't you afraid you're going a _little_ too fast? You might scare her off."

"Hn."

"Articulate as always, I see," Pein sighed. "Well, I just wanted to tell you to keep a clear head when you're dealing with this girl. The last thing we need is for you to feel attracted to our target."

"It won't happen," Itachi assured him. Inside, he had a flurry of uneasiness and disgust. _Attracted?_ he thought. _To that kunoichi? Ridiculous._

But he couldn't shake the idea off easily.

* * *

A/N: If that seemed like a filler chapter to you, you aren't the only one.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Happy New Year! I won't be updating for a while, so enjoy this chapter!

* * *

_Dear Shishou,_

_I'm all right. The Akatsuki haven't tortured me for any information. Don't worry. There's nothing you or anyone else can do to free me, and even though I wish you'd get me out of here, it would only be suicide if you try._

_I've made a deal with the Akatsuki. In exchange for staying out of Konoha, I've agreed to be their medic. Please don't cry._

_-o-_

Tsunade blinked back tears, and continued to read the short letter.

_-o-_

_I'm only their medic to protect you all. Please believe that. Nothing will change that. I can't tell you where I am, or what I'm doing, and I'm sorry._

_Send everyone my love._

_Sakura_

Tsunade sighed. "I wish I could tell her how much we all miss her." She looked at Shizune. Tears flowed freely down her face. "Tell everyone to stop the search," Tsunade said gently. "It's over."

* * *

Sakura's mood continued to sour. Even though sending that letter made her feel a little better, nothing could help her overwhelming loneliness. Konan had been on missions for the past few weeks, and she didn't even have a girl to talk to. It didn't help that Itachi _wouldn't leave her alone._

'_Ah, quit your griping,' _Inner said lazily. _'It's not every day some hot bad-boy takes an interest in you.'_

"_Bad-boy" isn't exactly the term I would use, _Sakura snapped. _"Murderer" is more like it._

'_Same thing. He's in love with you, right? It's cute.'_

_No, it's not. It's almost stalkerish._

'_Oh, so you think he's creepy?"_

_Yes._

'_And weird?'_

_Yes._

'_But so totally hot?'_

_Yes. _Sakura realized what she just thought. _Wait--that's not what I meant!_

'_Too late. The first step is denial. The second is acceptance.'_

_I've never wanted to escape my own mind so much._

'_Deal with it.'_

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Deidara said, poking his head into her room. He gave her a strange look. "Why do you look like you want to kill someone?"

Sakura struggled to control her murderous aura. "_Two_ someones, as a matter of fact," she growled.

Deidara looked worried. "It's not me, is it?"

Sakura smiled. "No, Dei-dei. But if you try to put another bomb under my bed, I will kill you." Deidara went pale.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Konan?" Sakura asked quietly, closing the door to Konan's room. Konan didn't answer. Sakura waited for her to wake up from her meditative trance.

Konan's room was entirely blue. The bamboo floors, the furniture, even the walls and ceiling. Dark blue butterflies adorned the walls, seeming to flutter in the light from the thick, blue candles that circled the blue-haired kunoichi. Paper butterflies slowly circled around Konan, just above the flickering flames of the candles.

"Have a seat, Sakura," Konan said, opening her eyes. "I have some information you may want to hear."

Sakura sat. "Is it about that technique you were telling me about?"

"Yes." Konan sighed quietly, then continued, "It is an ancient technique, as well as a forbidden one."

"I'm listening."

Konan pulled out a sealed scroll. "Release!" she said. The seal vanished, and Konan unrolled the scroll, pointing to diagrams as she went. "This jutsu brings every power you have to its fullest potential. This includes ninjutsu, genjutsu, as well as physical strength. The length of the jutsu is determined by the levels of chakra one has. As time goes on, it replenishes chakra incredibly fast."

"So, I'll have unlimited chakra and immense power," Sakura verified with a grin.

"You will have both of these. But there is a catch," Konan said grimly. "You have at the most, ten hours before the jutsu takes control of you. You will destroy everything and everyone around you. You must learn to master the jutsu and do what you need to do before your time is up. Otherwise…you'll die."

"And take everyone to Hell with me," Sakura responded with a curt nod. "Gotcha. Now, how do I perform this jutsu?"

Konan hesitated. "Are you sure you want to do this, Sakura? You might die in the process. And-"

"I know the risks," Sakura interrupted. "And I want to do it anyway. Remember, you can't tell _anyone_ about this. It's our only chance."

Konan sighed. "I know. Perhaps we should sway others to go with us."

"Dei-dei will probably join easily. And with him, Tobi."

"What about Kisame and Itachi?"

"They can stay with Pein. I don't know."

Konan was about to say something, but Sakura stopped her. There was a tiny noise, about as loud as a pin dropping, but Sakura heard it. Silently, she got to her feet and pointed at the ceiling. Konan quickly rolled up the scroll, glancing fearfully upward. Sakura slowly filled her fist with chakra, and launched herself at the ceiling.

When you looked at Konan's room from outside, you could say that her roof exploded. That's just about what it did from Sakura's punch. Large chunks of wood and metal rained down over the courtyard as Sakura got to her feet. She looked around. Her fist had definitely connected with something, the scrap of fabric clenched in her fist was proof enough of that. But where--

A tiny groan alerted the intruder's presence. Sakura stomped over and grabbed Itachi by the throat.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she snarled, loosening her grip on his neck.

"That is none of your concern," he replied. "What does concern you is that Pein is looking for you."

Sakura froze. "W-What does he want?"

"As far as I could tell, he wants you to heal Kisame and go on a mission." Sakura relaxed, releasing the Uchiha with a sigh.

"All right," she said finally. "Just tell me where fish-face is and let's go." Itachi got to his feet, a small smirk on his face.

"Right this way, madam," he said, cocking his head to the side and smirking wider. Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

She turned her head away and muttered, "Move, already." Itachi smirked again and went back to the compound, Sakura following behind.

* * *

She was blushing. That much was obvious. He glanced back at her again. She met his eyes for a split second before looking away and blushing a deeper pink than her vividly colored hair. Itachi smirked before looking back in front.

She's embarrassed. How cute.

"So what's this jutsu I was hearing about?" Itachi asked calmly. After a moment of shocked silence, he blocked the chakra loaded punch aimed at his face, then one at his stomach.

"You can't tell anyone!" she hissed, livid. But she was trembling, her eyes filled with fear.

"What would you do if I let Pein know?" he whispered. Sakura froze, her face going dead white.

"No," she whispered. "No! You can't! Don't!" She threw a wild kick, which Itachi easily dodged, spinning her around and holding her arms behind her back in one deft move.

"Don't fight, someone will notice," he hissed. Into her ear, he said, "Don't worry. I won't tell Pein." Sakura relaxed. Itachi added, "Unless you give me reason."

"Don't you dare," Sakura hissed, her voice wavering. She twisted out of his grip and glared at him. "If he finds out, I'll kill you with my bare hands." Itachi stepped back at the sheer murderous aura she was emitting.

"Calm down," Itachi said lazily. "I'm not going to tell him anyway. I suggest you hurry to Pein's office before he becomes annoyed."

Sakura shot one last murderous glare at Itachi before leaving. Itachi watched her go.

_You'd think I would've learned to pick my fights better, _he thought sourly.

* * *

Naruto burst into the Hokage's office. "What the hell is this?" he demanded. "Why did we stop the search for Sakura? What, did you give up? Do you think she's dead already?"

Tsunade continued to quietly drink her sake, ignoring Naruto, which just made him angrier.

"Listen, Grandma Tsunade," he yelled. "You tell me why we stopped searching for Sakura now!"

Tsunade slammed her sake glass down on the table, shattering it, but she didn't seem to notice. "You really want to know why we stopped?" she asked him, her hands quivering in anger.

Naruto was surprised for a moment, then he remembered why he was here. His face hardened. "Hell yeah I want to know!"

Tsunade tossed the letter from Sakura into his face. "_This_ is the reason, you little brat."

Naruto caught the letter and read it. And again. And again. His hands were trembling so badly he could barely hold the sheet of paper. "No," he breathed, his face emotionless. He backed up against the wall, sinking down to the ground. "No, no, no, no, no! No! This wasn't supposed to happen! We were supposed to bring her back! No!" His hand clenched the paper in his fist.

"Naruto," Tsunade said painfully. "I know it's hard, but-"

"You know what we've got to do now, right?" he said.

Tsunade looked at him questioningly. "Naruto…?"

Naruto got to his feet, looking down at the paper in his hand. "We're just going to have to drag her back to the village!"

* * *

A/N: I wonder what he's planning… =3


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry for the stupidly short last chapter. And sorry for the longish update. I'm going to start typing up all the chapters beforehand, so updates will be a lot faster now. So, without further ado, read on!

* * *

"I understand that I am to have a mission, Pein-sama," Sakura said, stepping into the ominous room. Pein's projection watched her from behind his desk.

"Yes," Pein replied. "Uchiha and Hoshigaki will be joining you. As a matter of fact, they should be here."

"Here, Leader-sama," Kisame said, appearing next to Sakura. Itachi stepped to Sakura's other side, but said nothing.

"Good," Pein approved. "Your mission is a simple recon in Lightning Country. I want you to observe a certain clan by the name of Takara. They have something important for the future of this organization. And something important to _me_. Find out where this item is, and immediately report back to me. Understood?"

"Understood," the three replied.

"There is another component to your mission," Pein added. "You will need to pose as civilians, not as Akatsuki. Which means you will be in disguise--especially you two, Haruno and Hoshigaki. And also, assassinate the head of the Takara family. I want no witnesses, but refrain from killing others. You leave in three days. Dismissed."

The three Akatsuki left the room without another word.

* * *

Shizune poked her head through Tsunade's door. The Hokage was staring absently out the window. "Lady Tsunade," Shizune said. "We have someone who would like to talk to you."

"What?" Tsunade said distractedly. "Yes, send him in."

A middle-aged man tentatively entered. His balding head was neatly combed, and he wore a suit that didn't seem to agree with him, he habitually fidgeted and adjusted his tie. He nervously watched the famed Hokage.

"I assume you have something to tell me?" Tsunade asked, looking right at him.

He went into a fit of nervous spasms and was barely able to stutter out, "Y-y-yes, I-I h-have a m-m-m-mission f-for y-you."

"Well, spit it out." Tsunade was quickly getting annoyed with the man, and it showed.

"Yes, well," the man said, regaining his composure. "I want you to assign a team to protect my family and I."

"Doesn't sound _that_ big a deal so that you had to see me personally," Tsunade said skeptically.

The man held himself up haughily. "Madam Hokage, I don't believe you know who you are talking to! I am Isao Takara, the wealthiest man in the five great nations!"

"Takara?" Tsunade asked, surprised. "The clan that found the ore mine in Lightning Country?"

"Yes," Takara sniffed. "And I believe your village uses some of the ore from our mines in your weapons?"

"True," Tsunade. "So why do you ask for our help?"

"Well," he said, visibly deflating. "My greatest competitor has been making threats against my life for quite some time now. I fear he will have gone to more desperate measures now. I think he may have hired assassins to kill me. I had an elite squad of Hidden Rain ninja to protect me in the past, but recently, they've all turned up dead."

"Were they chuunin?" Tsunade asked.

"Jounin," he said miserably. "Do you see why I ask for your help? Your ninja are the best trained, and some of them have already gone against Akatsuki before, right?"

"Why do you mention Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked suspiciously.

"That's who I fear has been hired to kill me," Takara said. "Please, I'm begging you!"

"How much are you willing to pay?" Tsunade finally asked. The man named a sum so high Tsunade knew would eliminate the Leaf's debts by at least half.

Shizune came in again. "Lady Tsunade," she said. "Team Kakashi has returned to the village."

"Great," Tsunade said cheerfully. "Send them up here. I have a mission for them. Oh, and bring Sai as well."

* * *

"Konan!" Sakura said, finally finding her friend. Konan stopped and Sakura ran up to her. "Konan, we have to do it tonight," Sakura said lowly.

"Tonight?" Konan whispered disbelievingly. "Why tonight?"

"The mission is in three days," Sakura said breathily. "Itachi knows. He won't tell," she added hurriedly at Konan's terrified face. "At least I don't think so. We won't have a better opportunity any other time. What do you think?"

Konan hesitated, but then something crossed her mind, and she nodded. "Tonight, then."

* * *

Tsunade waited for the details of the mission to sink into Team Kakashi.

"So, if it's Akatsuki trying to kill the old man," Naruto said eagerly, "There might be a chance we'll see Sakura?" Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sai perked up a bit at his words.

"It's not that simple," Tsunade said. "We don't know how many Akatsuki will be there, or who they have going. The only ones we know of that are still alive are Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Deidara of the Rock, and Sakura. There could be many others, for all we know."

That sobered Naruto up. Kakashi cleared his throat and said, "Either way, we accept the mission. When do we leave?"

"Immediately," Tsunade said. "Mr. Takara will be leaving shortly. You are to escort him back to his home in Lightning Country, and guard his home and family until further notice, or when he decides he is no longer in danger. Expect to be attacked. Several times. You're dismissed." Naruto turned and walked out without another word.

Sasuke went after him. "Dobe, what's your problem?"

Naruto grunted, "I've gotta pack. Don't you want to see Sakura?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment. "Yes, but if Itachi's there, I won't spare her a glance. I can't."

Naruto rounded on him, giving him a swift punch, knocking Sasuke down. "Get over yourself," Naruto snarled. "You're never going to kill him, you'll just die trying! Nothing you say or do will change that! You should see a doctor--you're late for your reality check." The blonde ninja stalked off, leaving his friend in shock. Then anger hit. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and started after him, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"It's no use," Kakashi said. "Since we heard Sakura joined the Akatsuki, he can't get over that she did it for him. In his mind, he's supposed to be protecting _her_, not the other way around."

"I see what you mean," Sasuke admitted.

"Exactly," Kakashi said with a nod. "He's torn, and he doesn't know how to deal with it." He paused to let Sasuke digest this. "You can deactivate your sharingan now."

"Oh, right." His eyes reverted to their normal black color.

"And one other thing, Sasuke."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Promise me you won't try to kill Itachi if you see him during this mission."

Sasuke frowned. It wasn't like he hadn't seen this coming. One he'd heard to expect Akatsuki, his mind went straight to killing his hated brother. Still, he had to say _something _to Kakashi.

"I'll try not to," he said carefully. "But no promises, Kakashi-sensei."

* * *

"I have the scroll," Konan said quietly as she passed Sakura in the hall.

"Good," Sakura replied. They continued on their way as if they had never spoken. Their exchange was virtually unnoticeable. But Uchiha Itachi noticed it.

He decided to confront her about it. As Sakura walked into her room, Itachi stuck his foot in the doorway. She didn't seem to notice, and flung herself onto her bed.

Suddenly, a kunai went hurtling at Itachi's face. He barely managed to catch it before it stabbed the bridge of his nose. He glanced at the glaring kunoichi.

"I figure you would have learned to show me some respect," Itachi said dryly.

"Respect?" the kunoichi huffed. "I doubt that any of you would give me a scrap of it if you didn't notice how potentially lethal I am."

"Except for, perhaps, Konan-san?" Itachi said, watching her reaction. As expected, she flinched and looked away.

"That is none of your business," she muttered.

"Oh?" Itachi stepped into the room and walked right up to the pink-haired ninja. She looked up at him and seemed surprised he was so close. Itachi said quietly, leaning toward her, "I make it my business to know your business." To his surprise, she blushed.

* * *

Sakura could feel the heat creeping up her face as the Uchiha smirked. Damn it, why did he make her heart flip when he just looked at her? And that smirk of his didn't help matters at all.

'_Still in denial, Sakura?"_ Inner said smugly.

_Denial? What--? No!_

'_I'll leave you to your lover now,'_ Inner sang.

"Haven't you got a response, Haruno?" Itachi asked, widening his smirk fractionally. "I would have thought that you were not unlike your friend the Jinchuuriki in levels of intelligence."

It took Sakura a moment to realize she'd been insulted. Her hand whipped through the air, but Itachi caught it. But not without hurting his hand in the process, Sakura thought smugly, seeing Itachi's slight wince. She had put a fair amount of chakra into that slap.

"What do you want, anyway?" Sakura asked dismissively, hoping the flush in her cheeks wasn't as bad as she thought.

"I came to remind you that we will not be training during the mission," he said. "I expect your skills to be as well as they have developed during the mission."

"Is that all?" Sakura asked.

Itachi smirked. "No, it is not." And with that, using Sakura's hand he was still holding on to, he pulled her to her feet, pulling her close. Sakura felt like her heart was about to fly out of her chest, it was beating so fast. What was worse, Itachi's smirk told her that he knew what she was thinking.

"Let go of me," Sakura hissed, blushing furiously. Itachi gave her a strange look. To her utter shock, he released her and vanished in a puff of smoke. Just seconds before Deidara walked into the room.

"Hey, Sakura-kun," he said, not noticing her prominent blush. "I made you a present. I made sure I won't explode this time, un." He opened his hands, and in it lay an intricately designed figurine of her.

Sakura gasped, gently taking the delicate clay model into her hands. It was realistic in every way, down to the shape of her eyes. "It's wonderful, Dei-dei," she breathed.

Deidara went pink. "I-it's no big deal, really. I just thought-"

Sakura crushed him in a hug. "Shut up, you big baka. Thanks."

Deidara stepped out of the hug, smiling. "So, un, I guess I'll see you when I get back."

"You're going on a mission?"

"Yeah, un. It'll take at least a week, so see you then?"

"Yeah."

As soon as Deidara left, Itachi reappeared. "Tell me about this jutsu you will attempt," he said, seemingly indifferent to Sakura's stricken face.

"No, I can't," she hissed, shutting the door so no one would hear. "What do you know about it anyway?"

"You and Konan-san are going to perform a forbidden jutsu, hoping to have Deidara join you to dissolve the Akatsuki," he responded immediately. "You want to ultimately kill Pein, but Konan is reluctant to do so. You're still deciding on what to do with Kisame and I." He looked at her shocked face. "Do I know enough?" he asked wryly.

Suddenly, there was a kunai pressed against his back and neck, one Sakura behind him, one in front of him. Itachi didn't move, momentarily surprised at her burst of speed.

"I remain true to saying that I will kill you if you say anything about this," she said, her face confirming that she would, in fact, kill him.

"I also remain true to saying that I will not tell," Itachi said, pressing a kunai to the throat of the real Sakura. She froze as both bunshin, hers and Itachi's vanished. Itachi took her kunai away gently, and vanished.

But not before placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.

* * *

Konan performed several hand signs, sealing the jutsu. Sakura sliced her hand and did the same. The moment, both women's hands were on the paper, ribbons of chakra raced up their arms, sinking into the sin, sending their chakra levels sky-high. Sakura glanced at Konan, and they shared a grin, feeling three times as strong as they ever had before.

The chakra ribbons started to come slower, and once they died down completely, they removed their hands from the scroll. Sakura flexed her hand.

"Wow," she said. "I can feel the huge amounts of chakra flowing through my body. It feels good!"

"Yes," Konan said, grinning. "My chakra levels have gone up a lot. But Pein-sama will be able to tell," she continued, her grin fading. "He'll know. I don't think I can hide this much chakra."

"You won't have to hide it," Sakura said. "I have a jutsu that will seal it away until we need it. You've heard of Lady Tsunade?"

"The female Sannin," Konan said.

Sakura nodded. "I've taken one of her jutsu and perfected it. The Souzou Saisei. Now, the number of cells it can recreate have reached near infinity."

"Perfect," Konan said. "That shouldn't arouse any suspicion."

"Let me teach you," Sakura told her. "The hand signs go like this…"

* * *

A/N: Well, that's that. I figure there are plenty of loopholes in this, so tell me what I missed.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Chapter 8 is up now! I'm skipping ahead from the last chapter to a few days after they left for the mission, so just work with me here.

* * *

Sakura glanced uncomfortably at Kisame. It was strange enough seeing him with his shark-like face, but seeing him look even remotely human was even stranger. _Nothing_ could have prepared her for _this._

His blue, scaly skin was replaced with smooth, tanned skin, his gills nonexistent. A head of dark, spiky brown hair replaced his blue hair. His eyes were shaped normally, with black irises, and his teeth were more human-like. His canines were slightly longer and wider than normal, though.

Sakura suppressed a shiver. This was _too_ weird.

Kisame caught her looking and grinned. "Best get used to it, kunoichi," he told her. "You'll probably be seeing it for a few days. And trust me, I don't like this any more than you do."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're telling me," she grumbled.

"Haruno, I would hope that you're done talking now," Itachi said stiffly.

"Don't mind him," Kisame whispered. "He hates walking this far."

Just then, a carriage rolled by. Several carriages followed, followed by four very familiar ninja. Sakura barely smothered a gasp. It was Team Seven--who she wasn't quite expecting to see right now.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm tired," Naruto whined. "Can't we stop for a while? We've been walking for three days straight!"

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke said. "I just want to get this stupid mission over with."

"Be quiet, both of you," Sai said irritably. "You're both annoying."

Sakura smiled slightly. Same old boys. Even Kakashi didn't even seem to be able to do anything about them.

Then Naruto noticed the three travelers. "Hey, you over there!" he called. "You guys want a ride?" He started to walk over, and Sakura was suddenly very glad of her careful disguise. Even Kakashi wouldn't recognize her.

"Hey, kid, thanks, but no thanks," she called, her voice completely different. She had adopted Konan's voice, as well as some of her looks. Sakura's hair and eyes were now a bright blue, and her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was also much taller. Sakura continued, "We have a long way to go, and we don't want to hassle you." _I also don't want Kakashi-sensei to realize who we are,_ she thought.

"Kid?" Naruto said angrily, apparently hearing only that word. Typical Naruto. "Why, you-"

Sasuke stepped in, and cut Naruto off, covering his mouth in a headlock. "Please excuse my incompetent partner," he said with a small smile. "He's too childish for his own good." Naruto gave an indignant shout, which Sasuke quickly knocked him on the head for.

Sakura gave him a smile in return. "I can see that easily. And you are…?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," he said, bowing slightly. "The knucklehead here is Naruto, and that's Sai and Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura madly tried to think of a name. "I'm, uh, Rika. These are my friends, uh…"

"Kenta," Kisame interrupted. "I'm Kenta, and this is Isao," he said, gesturing at Itachi. He was watching Sasuke intently, as if to see his reaction. Sakura wasn't surprised. Even she had expected even a little bit of a reaction from Sasuke. Even if his older brother's hair and eyes were brown now,

Kakashi spoke up. "We're sort of in a hurry here, boys!" Sasuke glanced up and was surprised to see them fairly far ahead.

"Sorry to cut this short," he said, releasing Naruto. "Nice meeting you." Sakura thought something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone in an instant, and she replaced that feeling with a bit of paranoia.

Naruto, now freed, lunged for Sakura. "Let me at her, calling me a kid-" Sasuke grabbed his friend's collar and dragged him back to the carriages, expertly holding the struggling ninja.

"Why were they here?" Itachi mused, continuing walking. "What business could they possibly have in Lightning Country?"

"A mission?" Sakura suggested.

Itachi looked at her and nodded slightly. "It makes sense. But _what_ mission?"

Kisame gave a small chuckle. "No one ever knows the answer."

* * *

The next day, Naruto and Sasuke were exploring the city of Kumo, the Village Hidden in the Clouds. For a city built on top of a mountain, it had many sights.

"Come on, teme," Naruto said eagerly. "I heard there's a forest near the foot of the mountain. We can spar there! Taijutsu only. Come on!"

"I dunno, dobe," Sasuke said, glancing back at the Takara estate. "We're supposed to be changing shifts soon."

"We have three hours, at least," Naruto said impatiently. "We won't be missed. Or are you just afraid you'll lose to me?" Sasuke's face hardened, and Naruto grinned. Things were going according to plan.

"Wait, look," Sasuke said, seeing a flash of blue hair. Naruto looked and saw the traveling girl from before, Rika, and her other friend, Kenta. The two finished talking about something--Sasuke couldn't tell what at this distance--then parted ways.

"Come on, let's follow the girl," Naruto said, pulling Sasuke after him.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Her name is Rika. And I thought you wanted to spar?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "She's heading towards the forest, anyway. Let's just see what she's doing for a second, then we can spar. Now come on!"

* * *

Itachi finished his report to Pein, and finished, "Within the week, we should have the item in your posession." Pein nodded and his projection vanished.

"Itachi?" Sakura called, stepping into the clearing, looking around. "Ita- oh, there you are," she said, spotting him. She stepped closer and said lowly, "You were right, they're guarding the Takara family. What are we supposed to get from them anyway? You know, right?"

Itachi looked at her, then grabbed her wrists and pulled her close to him. "Don't say anything," he muttered as she opened her mouth to scream. "We're being watched." Sakura still looked like she was about to scream, so Itachi muttered, "Make one sound, and you will never again see the light of day." Sakura's mouth snapped shut.

He tried to distinguish who's chakra was there. It was familiar…Sasuke. And the Kyuubi container. Damn. Perfect, the two people in the world who would do anything to kill him and bring their comrade back. He moved himself and Sakura closer to the tree. From this angle, they ought to--

Itachi felt the kunoichi move slightly. He looked at her in warning, but she angled her face up towards his, her eyes closed and fully aware of what she was doing. Itachi was experiencing the closest thing he'd ever felt to shock. Which was unheard of, even then. She was actually kissing him? But she _hated_ him. He'd made sure of _that._

_No_, he realized. _Shedidn't_. And this irritating, emotional, questionable girl--he didn't hate her either.

* * *

Sakura didn't know what she was doing. She had no reason to react to his touch, and yet she still had. Now she felt like a fool, just for playing right into his hands. This was obviously his and Pein's goal, to get her to fall for him. _It worked like a charm,_ she thought sourly.

'_Oh, please,'_ Inner huffed. _'Can't you tell he's-'_

Sakura blocked out her Inner. The last thing she needed was an I-told-you-so. She would pull away now, forget this ever happened, focus on who was watching them. And yet…

_I don't have the willpower,_ she thought. _I love him too much._ The realization hit her hard. Hadn't she hated him? Detested him with every inch of her being, cursed his name? Yes, but it was recently that these new feelings arose.

She froze as Itachi pushed her against the tree. Hard. She opened her eyes in shock and was very surprised to see him watching her with eyes full of undisguised _want._ He was kissing her too, much more aggressively than he ever had before. Sakura didn't know how to react, flabbergasted by him _again._ But when he held her arms, all of that left her mind. All that she knew was that she hoped he loved her as much as she loved him.

Her eyes closed and all rational thought flew out the window. His hands released her wrists, holding her head in place behind her neck. The other hand went to the small of her back, which he wrapped around her, pulling her ever closer. Sakura reached her arms up, twisting her hands into Itachi's hair, locking themselves around him. Itachi's mouth moved from her lips, trailing kisses down her cheek, his hands slowly moving down as Sakura held in a moan. It felt _so good,_ just having him touch her.

She never wanted his feeling to end.

* * *

"Ew," Naruto said, making a face. "They're making out now…"

Sasuke didn't say anything. He was torn between using his Sharingan to get a closer look and just leaving. His gut wrenched as he thought again of how much Rika looked like _her._ He swore lowly, tearing his mind away from those thoughts. He got to his feet, something suddenly occurring to him. "Come on, dobe," he told Naruto. "I need to talk to Kakashi-sensei."

"Sure," Naruto said, getting up. "Better than watching _that._"

Sasuke was silent as they went back to Kumo.

* * *

Itachi broke the kiss first. Sakura opened her eyes and watched as he stepped away, a panicked look barely concealed on his face. He backed up, running his hands through his hair.

"Itachi?" Sakura asked. She hesitated a moment before stepping towards him. "Itachi, are you all right?" She reached out to touch his shoulder, but he jerked back. Itachi shook his head, turning away.

"I just need a moment," he said in a strangled tone. Sakura cautiously watched him as he clutched his head, muttering to himself. Finally, he sighed, turning back to Sakura.

"Itachi," Sakura asked softly. "What are you…" She trailed off, distracted by the intense look he was giving her. Silently, his hard, rough hand cupped her chin and he kissed her. Sakura was careful not to kiss him too hard. Softly, they kissed, until Itachi broke the kiss again.

"Right," he sighed. "Remind me never to do that again." He let go of Sakura, who was getting very confused again.

"Wait…what? What the hell, Itachi?" she said, clutching his sleeve. "What the hell was that? What are you talking about? What-" She stopped, unable to comprehend why he looked like he was enjoying her little outburst.

"As you can clearly tell," he pointed out. "Whoever was watching us is gone." Sakura started, realizing he was right. "So," he continued. "I saw no further reason to make them believe we were doing something concerning important matters."

"Right," Sakura said, her heart sinking. So the only reason he'd kissed her was to throw the people watching them off track. "Do you know who they were?"

"Yes, Sasuke and Naruto."

"What?" Sakura said weakly, going pale. "Are you sure?" Itachi gave her a 'you're-asking-_me_-that' look.

_They saw me__ kissing __him__, _Sakura thought, horrified.

'_Yes, but they didn't know it was you,'_ Inner pointed out.

_That's not the point!_, Sakura thought, panicked. _What will Naruto think? What will __Sasuke__ think? What happens if they find out?_

'_I doubt they will find out',_ Inner said patiently. '_I thought that I was supposed to come up with all these worst-case-scenarios.'_

Sakura wasn't listening. She was too busy thinking how horribly things could turn out.

* * *

Three days later, Sakura silently stole into the Takara mansion, dressed not to be seen.

"Good so far," Itachi said over the radio attached to Sakura's neck. "I found Takara's room."

"Found the guard room," Kisame said. "No more worries about them."

"I found the vault," Sakura said, examining the large metal structure in front of her. She asked, "Where's Team 7?"

"Battling a Deidara copy," Kisame said.

Sakura went to work opening the safe. Explosions and breaking it down were not an option, it would cause too much noise. So, it was time to crack it the old fashioned way--cast a genjutsu around the surrounding area and break down the door as fast as possible. Which is exactly what Sakura did.

Several fists through a wall of metal later, Sakura was standing in a gigantic chamber full of money and many other riches. But those weren't important. Sakura headed straight for the center of the room, where a giant scroll lay perched on its very own pedestal.

_This is too easy, _Sakura thought. _Guards taken down, Takara probably dead even as he sleeps, and not even a single-_

She paused, foot still in midair, as she inwardly sighed in relief. It was a trip wire, designed for this very purpose. Sakura, unmoving, traced the path of the wire with her eyes. It started at the rightmost wall, crossing lowly over the floor to the left wall, where it went up the wall to trigger a senbon wave from the side. If any of them were poisoned, it would mean almost instant death. Glancing back down at the wire, she noticed a second, thinner wire. This time, it went up both sides of the wall to release a barrage of weapons from the ceiling. Sakura swallowed at the early death she had avoided.

'_Oh, please, a year ago you wouldn't have sniffed at this,'_ Inner pouted.

_A year ago, I wasn't in the Akatsuki, and I haven't been on missions in a while!,_ Sakura countered.

'_Oh, please, it hasn't even been a month.'_

It hadn't? Why did every day feel like a year, then? Sakura shook her head and continued towards the scroll, carefully avoiding any more traps. A minute later, she was standing in front of the scroll. Itachi had misjudged the size of the scroll, so it wouldn't fit into her pack. Curious as to what the scroll held, Sakura unfurled it a little.

Her eyes widened as she continued to read. "Guys," she hissed into her microphone. "Do you know what this scroll contains? It's a jutsu to create a Juubi and put it into a person!"

"What?" Itachi responded incredulously.

"What does Pein want with this?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, Rika," a voice said. "What _does_ Pein want with it?"

She froze. "Kisame, how many Leaf ninja are you fighting?"

"Three," he responded. "Why?"

"Dammit," she muttered. _Please don't be Sasuke, please don't be Sasuke…_

She whipped around and saw, to her horror, Sasuke, framed in the doorway, glaring at her with Sharingan eyes. Luckily, he was not looking at her at the moment.

"And another thing," Sasuke continued, lazily looking around. "I thought you were a normal traveler. And here you are, turning out to be a shinobi. Who is Pein, by the way? Your rouge ninja leader?"

While Sasuke talked, Sakura tried to sense a way out without using any chakra. According to the layout of the mansion Itachi showed her, there was a courtyard directly behind this room, which then led down the mountain. And, since it was night, limited vision--to anyone who _didn't_ have an eye-based Kekkei Genkai. It wasn't much, but maybe she could get away before Sasuke realized who she was.

Sakura quickly threw several weapons at Sasuke while she escaped with the scroll. A paper bomb quickly dispatched the wall behind her, and, attaching the scroll to her back, leaped out. The sound of crashing metal alerted her to the fact that he went after her, not seeing the traps.

She was tempted to use a jutsu to get away, but as she ran over the courtyard, she banished that idea. The last thing she wanted was for Sasuke to recognize one of her jutsu.

"Sakura, where are you?" Itachi asked.

"Courtyard out back," Sakura breathed. "Your brother is here. Quick question: is there any way to prevent the sharingan from seeing your chakra?"

"Not that I know of," Itachi replied.

"Damn," Sakura said. "I was afraid you'd say that."

An explosion behind her knocked her off her feet, sending her sprawling. Looking back, she saw Kisame fighting Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai. And Sasuke was _still chasing her._ And then suddenly, he stopped. Sakura was able to see Itachi, disguise forgotten, standing in front of his brother before she raced down the mountain.

At the bottom of the mountain was the forest. Sakura sealed the large scroll inside a much smaller one, which solved the transport problem. There, she waited, cursing herself for not seeing this entire thing coming.

Itachi stepped out of the darkness. "Rika, are you all right?" he asked.

"Itachi, what-" she started, but then cut herself off. "Never mind. Yes, I'm fine. What about Sasuke and the others?"

Itachi smirked. "My dear brother is under a genjutsu. He's under the impression that Hatake is me. I give him ten minutes before his friends can catch him and break the jutsu."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Probably less if Kakashi can catch the little asshole before he does some real damage. What about Kisame?"

"He is busy distracting Naruto and your other friend from stopping Sasuke," Itachi replied, his smirk growing wider.

"You're a criminal mastermind," Sakura said, rolling her eyes again. "We should start moving, though."

"Moving where?" Sasuke asked, appearing in the clearing. "Leaving without me?"

Itachi quickly blocked Sakura from sight. "Run, now," he muttered to a terrified Sakura. She turned around and was about to start running when Sasuke stepped out from behind a tree in front of her. The bunshin in front of Itachi vanished.

"What don't you want me to see, Rika?" Sasuke asked, looking directly at her. Sakura stood frozen as Sasuke realized who she was.

"Sakura?" he said, confused, looking back and forth between her and Itachi. "How are you…? Why…? But you were with…you kissed hi-" Sasuke lapsed into a shocked silence as everything he had seen sunk in. Then his gaze riveted on Itachi, and his shock abruptly turned to anger. "What the hell did you do to her, you bastard!" he snarled at Itachi. "I'll kill you!"

"Sasuke, stop!" Sakura yelled. She undid the jutsu that held her disguise, revealing her true, pink-haired form.

"Sakura, but…" His face hardened. Sasuke said darkly, "But why did you kiss him?"

Sakura froze. She wasn't expecting him to ask like _that_. "Uh…"

Sasuke pointed at Itachi. "Ever since I first met you, I told you I'd kill him! And I come here now and found that you've been making out with my _worst__enemy_?"

"You don't have to put it like that," Sakura muttered.

Sasuke didn't seem to notice she'd even spoken. "What, are you best friends with him and the rest of those terrorists, too? I thought you were supposed to be my friend, Sakura-"

"Well, you'd better think again," Sakura said harshly. "Friends? I thought you knew better, Sasuke. I _hate_ you. I hated your guts ever since you left the village! You thought you got stronger? You didn't. _I__did_." She stepped up to him, punching him straight in the face, effectively breaking his nose. Sasuke catapulted back into a tree, clutching his bleeding nose. Sakura continued, "I bet you can't do _that_ without using any chakra. Like I'd waste any on _you_. You're pathetic, Sasuke. And as to why I kissed your brother?" Sakura grabbed Itachi by the collar and kissed him again. Looking back at her ex-comrade, she added, "I half thought it would piss you off, but I really just wanted to see the look on your face. And trust me," she said, meeting at his thunderstruck face with a grin, "it's worth every second!"

Sakura and Itachi vanished, leaving Sasuke, hurt and confused, on the ground.

………………………………

* * *

A/N: For those of you ready to assassinate me, (T.T), believe me, there is a method for my madness.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm sorry! I meant to update Saturday, but my files vanished. --_--' I'll update another time this week.

* * *

As soon as Sakura and Itachi were some miles away from Sasuke, Sakura dropped to her knees, tears flowing freely.

"I can't believe I actually said what I did," she said tearfully, a hysterical smile forming on her face. "He hates me now, I know it. I'm scum. I only won last time because Naruto helped me. He's stronger than me any day. Why did I say that? He'll kill me now, I know it. And I deserve it, too…"

Itachi, meanwhile, was trying to contact Kisame. "Kisame, respond," he said for the third time. All he got was static. And then, a new voice came onto the line.

"Your friend's dead, you bastard," Sasuke said. "We're coming after you guys next. And tell Sakura to enjoy the fireworks."

Itachi said lowly, "Firewor…" He trailed off as he noticed the exploding pouches attached to Sakura's pack. Quickly, he yanked the pack off and threw it at a nearby tree, which made such a large explosion, both Akatsuki were thrown backwards.

"Damn," Sakura gasped, the wind knocked out of her.

"We've got to move," Itachi said urgently. "Kisame's gone, and that explosion was either to slow us down or to see where we were, probably both. We need to move!"

"But," Sakura said forlornly, watching the pack burn. "The scroll is gone…"

"Are you more worried about Pein being displeased or your life?" Itachi snapped. "Now _come on._"

The two vanished into the mountains as it started to rain.

* * *

"They passed through here," Kakashi said. "That much we know."

"What gave it away?" Naruto said cynically. "The explosion in the forest, or the scent Pakkun picked up?"

The ninja dog sniffed. "Not going to get much now, though," he said with a glance at the sky. "Rain will wash it all away."

"Then why are we still here?" Sasuke asked. "Itachi and Sakura are gone. Not much we can do." Naruto glared at what was left from the explosion when something caught his eye.

"What's this?" he asked, picking up a very charred, if not intact, scroll. Kakashi took it from him and unfurled it, revealing a sealing circle.

"Something was sealed in this, probably what they took," he verified. "I don't know how to release it, though, so it must be one of Sakura's or Itachi's special seals."

"It's a start," Pakkun said. "But how far can we get with it?"

* * *

"Damn it!" Sakura said, slamming her fist into a tree trunk. It shattered, leaving Itachi to avoid the falling branches. "He's dead! The scroll is gone. Pein is going to kill us. Should we even go back? Argh!! This is too confusing!" She kicked another tree.

"Sakura, calm down," Itachi said. "And stop destroying the forest. You'll tell them where we are." The radio around her neck crackled to life, and Sakura listened to the sounds of her ex-teammates arguing.

"I want to talk-"

"Naruto, get off-"

"Kakashi-"

"Teme, fork it-"

"Get off! I'll-"

There was the sound of a bone breaking, then a crash, then silence. Sakura, sweat dropping, listened as Naruto came on the line.

"Sakura, what's wrong with you?" he said, making Sakura's heart ache again. "I can't believe you said that, why-?"

Kakashi cut him off. "Sakura, Uchiha Itachi, I figure whatever it is that you stole is very, very valuable. Would it happen to have been sealed in a scroll?"

Sakura's breath hitched and Itachi tensed. Could the scroll have survived?

"So, we're willing to make a deal," Kakashi continued. "Meet us on the outskirts of town at noon. If you don't show up, we'll burn the scroll. Understood?"

Sakura was silent for a moment before answering, "Yes, Kakashi."

"Sakura," her teacher breathed. He would have said more, but before he could, Sakura ripped the radio off, crunching it in her fist.

"We're going to them," she said. "Now. Let's go."

"Shouldn't you think this through, Sakura?" Itachi said. "Honestly. You're too focused on seeing your comrades. What if this is a trap?"

"I don't care," she growled. "I say we're going."

"And I say we aren't," Itachi said, red eyes flashing.

Sakura glared right back into his Sharingan eyes. "I say _we are._"

Itachi frowned, Sakura wasn't usually this defiant. "Why are you so insistent about this? You can't go back to your village, you can't be with your comrades, so why do you need to do this?"

Sakura looked away, tears threatening to spill. "We-we need the scroll for Pein. That's all that matters."

"But didn't you say the scroll held a jutsu to make all of the Bijuu one demon?" Itachi argued. "Why would you put Pein with that much power in the first place? If you're so loyal to your village, wouldn't you rather have the Leaf have that scroll? Weren't you-"

"Shut up!" Sakura screamed. "Just shut up!" Itachi stopped, looking at her with surprise.

"I guess there's no arguing with you," he sighed. "But I'm not going."

"You don't have to," Sakura said with a sly smile. Itachi felt a sharp pang in his temple, and then blackness."

* * *

"They aren't coming," Naruto said. He glared at the sky. "This was a waste of time."

"They're right there," Kakashi said, closing his latest Ichaicha book. "I can sense Sakura's murderous aura."

"I don't see Itachi," Sasuke said. "You can untie me now, Kakashi-sensei."

"Not a chance, Sasuke," Kakashi refused. "Can't have you killing your old partner just because she hurt your ego."

"What?" Sasuke said incredulously. "But she-"

"Just said that so you would stop in shock and grow to hate her," Kakashi interrupted. "Which I'm sure was her intention. She knows exactly what makes your mind tick. Now be a good boy and don't try to break free. Or I _will_ knock you out."

Sakura, looking quite pissed by now, said, "Do you have the scroll?"

"Right here," Kakashi said, holding it up. "A quick question--why did you join the Akatsuki? I have a feeling you didn't give Lady Tsunade the full answer."

Sakura glared at him. "I do _not_ have to answer that."

"But you will," Naruto said. Sakura glared at the ground.

"Where's Sai?" she finally asked. An ink lion dropped to the ground, bumping her leg affectionately. Sakura managed a small smile and petted the ink creature.

She sat down, crossing her legs on the ground. "I have no excuses," she began. "I did everything because I wanted to. I said some things I shouldn't have," she told the glaring Uchiha teen, "I also didn't say some things I should have," Sakura added to Naruto. "And I'm sorry. But the truth of the matter is, you can't take me back to the village." She glanced at Kakashi's mildly surprised face. She scoffed, "What, you thought you could? I _do _know you guys inside and out."

"Yeah, but…" Naruto said weakly, letting the words hang in the air.

"And besides that," Sakura said, getting to her feet. "I have a question for you. Which of you killed Kisame?"

Sai called down from the trees, "That would be me."

Sakura frowned. "Huh. I thought it would have been Kakashi or Naruto. Good job, Sai. Saves me the trouble of killing him." She noticed the incredulous faces of her ex-comrades. "What? I was going to kill him anyway." She smiled. "You guys just saved me the trouble."

The Leaf shinobi looked at each other. _Crazy! The Akatsuki made Sakura crazy!_

"So, what were you going to exchange for the scroll?" Sakura asked.

Naruto looked sheepishly at the ground. "Well, we were going to ask you in exchange. But since _that_ idea's moot-"

"How about the rest of the Akatsuki's heads?" Sasuke asked. "Just ship them up to the Hokage's office, we'll-"

"No."

Sasuke looked at Sakura in surprise. "What?"

"No," Sakura said firmly. "I will _not_ do _that_. However, I can offer one head."

"Who?" Naruto asked eagerly.

Before Sakura could answer, in a flash of pink and black, she was gone.

* * *

"Bastard, let me go!" Sakura demanded, struggling against Itachi's strong hold. "And aren't you supposed to be unconscious? You should still be knocked out!"

"I don't sleep well," he said with a frown. "Why did you go? I told you not to."

"Like I listen to you," she scoffed.

"I wish you would."

"I wish you would let go!" she yelled. Itachi clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Stop being so loud!" he hissed. Sakura kicked back, her foot connecting with his knee. Momentarily stunned, Sakura leaped out of his grip.

"Now, stop doing that!" she told him, leaping back down in front of her ex-teammates.

"Itachi…" Sasuke said lowly, having spotted his brother.

"Don't even think about it," Kakashi warned.

"As I was saying, I can promise the head of one Akatsuki," Sakura continued, painfully aware of Itachi's eyes boring into her. "Doing so will dissolve the group, ending the Akatsuki. Just give me the scroll first. It's a miracle it survived the explosion anyway. I never got to thank you for that, _Sasuke_," she added with undisguised venom in her smile.

No one could suppress a shudder--not even Sai--at the pure evil look on her face. Sasuke was ready to perform the escape jutsu (he had several ideas of what Sakura might do to him if her fists connected), and as Sakura shot her fist out, he leapt out of the way, narrowly avoiding a concussion. The tree he was tied to was not as lucky. On impact, it was literally ripped out of the ground and knocked into several other trees.

"Damn," Sakura said, frowning. "He got away." Kakashi gave her a disapproving look. "What?" she said defensively. "I wasn't going to kill him. He's too valuable to the Leaf. I wasn't!" she insisted. Kakashi rolled his visible eye.

"Right," he muttered.

"Although," she called up to Itachi. "I'd keep an eye on your brother, if I were you. Who knows what he might do!"

* * *

"I'll keep that in mind," he muttered, stalking off. He'd better retrieve Kisame's sword before some villager found it. He shook his head. How reckless, to be killed by the Leaf shinobi. Even though the Deidara copy took some of his chakra, the Imitation Jutsu shouldn't have out him at _that_ much of a disadvantage.

He looked down at his fallen comrade. His clothes were ripped, stained with blood and--ink, perhaps? Quickly wrapping Samehada's handle in Kisame's sleeve, Itachi summoned a raven to carry Kisame's body and sword back to base. Once that was done, he glanced around. He could sense that Sasuke was directly behind him, several meters into the forest. He sighed quietly. Best get it over with.

He went back into the forest, pretending not to have noticed his brother, while Sasuke followed not-so-subtly behind. In his eagerness, he was making quite a lot of noise, for a shinobi. And Naruto was watching from a tree. He wouldn't deal with him just yet.

Finally, Itachi couldn't take it anymore. He whipped around and shot a paper bomb directly where his brother was. The trees exploded, and Sasuke jumped out of the way. Right where he wanted him.

* * *

_Crap,_ Sasuke thought, realizing he'd leaped into Itachi's line of vision. He grabbed a tree branch, swinging himself up into the leaves. From there, he could see what his brother was doing. Sasuke peered out, noticing his brother hadn't moved.

"Sasuke, look behind you."

He looked back and nearly fell out of the tree. Itachi was right behind him, smirking, mocking him. He vanished, a clone. Sasuke dropped down, seeing no point in hiding. He flinched when he saw the spikes scattered around his feet. When had Itachi spread them?

"You're never going to kill me like that, you know," Itachi said. "I doubt that you can even dodge this kunai," he added, flinging the weapon at his brother.

Sasuke easily knocked it to the left. He scoffed, "You underestimate me, Ita-" He was sharply cut off when the same kunai he had knocked away stabbed his arm, slicing down to the bone. With a pained gasp, he dropped to his knees, the spikes around him vanishing into smoke.

Itachi threw another kunai, and Sasuke, with his good arm, knocked it away. This time, the kunai exploded into hundreds of kunai that rained down on him. He didn't even have time to dodge.

Itachi walked up to his mortally injured brother. "I underestimate you? From this display, I would think I'd overestimated you. Wouldn't you agree?"

Dizzily, Sasuke replied, "You…cocky…bast…" As he passed out, the genjutsu broke.

Naruto stepped out from the bushes where he was hiding. "What the hell did you do to Sasuke, you bastard?" he growled, leaping at him. "Rasen-"

One glare from Itachi's eyes and Naruto went crashing down.

* * *

Sakura looked and saw Itachi return, carrying his brother on his shoulder, dragging a very unconscious Naruto behind him. She gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head.

"Here are your students," Itachi told Kakashi, dropping the two boys by a tree. To Sakura, he said, "We're leaving. Now."

"Wait!" Sakura insisted, looking at Kakashi. "The scroll-"

"Not now," Itachi snapped.

The two were gone without another word.

* * *

A/N: Itachi is totally OOC in this chapter, right?


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I am aiming for two more chapters after this, so read and tell me what you think. I'm not even going to attempt the whole "Tobi is Madara" thing, so let's all pretend he isn't another insane Uchiha, and he's just another member, okay? I'm also not going to try the "Pein is Nagato" thing either.

* * *

"You can't."

"I will."

"You're insane."

"Possibly."

"But Kakashi-"

"I know."

"You-"

"It's only right."

"Stop cutting me off-"

"I need to do this."

"…I can't change your mind?"

"No."

"Sure?"

"Stop it."

"You're going to die and I can't save you."

"Better than letting him live."

"You have no clue what he's capable of."

"Dei-dei and Konan will help."

"What if one of them dies?"

"They won't die."

"Stop being so-"

"They will not die."

"Fine, they won't die. But why won't you let me help?"

"You've got to make sure Tobi is otherwise occupied."

"Right. All I have to do there is tell him to count every blade of grass on the compound."

"That'll work."

"But-"

"Stop."

"You'll-"

"I know that."

"I'm not going to let you."

"Try and stop me."

"I won't have to."

"What?"

"I can tell him right now."

"You wouldn't. You wouldn't dare."

"Oh really?"

"You're bluffing, aren't you?"

"Try me."

"Oh, come on, you want him dead just as much as I do."

"That means nothing."

"And I suppose he's been your shoes this whole time? Leading you around?"

"No."

"Liar."

"I am not. You expect to defeat Pein? Do you think you can kill me?"

"…Possibly, if I'm lucky."

"Luck will get you nowhere if you continue to rely on it."

"Who said anything about depending on it?"

"You led me to that conclusion."

"…"

"What?"

"I was thinking, maybe we should spar and see if I can land a solid hit."

"Why?"

"If I can land two solid hits, you have to let me kill Pein. But you can't knock me out."

"Fine."

"Don't get to cocky, Uchiha. You may be surprised."

"I doubt that, Sakura. I find you completely predictable."

"Let's see what you think after I win."

* * *

_How do I get myself into these situations?_, Sakura thought to herself, lashing out and kicking yet another Itachi clone. They just kept coming, and Sakura was beginning to wear down. Kick, duck, punch, slice, fall, run, kick, duck, punch, slice, fall, run. That's all she was doing. _How much chakra does this bastard have?_

'_I don't know,' _Inner said. _'Why aren't you going to use the thing?'_

_The what? Oh--no, not yet. It's too soon._

'_You're going to die if this keeps up.'_

_That's what I'm planning on._

'_Itachi will not let you die.'_

_Exactly._

A particularly strong clone came and knocked Sakura into a tree. With a gasp of pain, she fell to her knees. Hiding her hand seals in her crouch, she muttered a jutsu under her breath.

The ground rumbled and shook, and started to form a sinkhole, opening up a large pit in the ground, the two sides of the chasm smashing back together once the clones vanished. Sakura released the jutsu, noticing that Itachi, naturally, was nowhere in sight.

Healing the larger injuries, Sakura glanced around. There was nothing to give her any clue as to where Itachi was. Damn, he was too good.

_We've been out here for hours!, _she thought, exasperated. _I haven't even touched him._

'_Drastic times call for drastic measures,' _Inner said. _'Use your jutsu and find him.'_

_Right._ Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated. With the utmost concentration, Sakura could detect another's jutsu, even if they were hiding it. Luckily, she had plenty of that.

* * *

Itachi peered down from the treetops, completely hidden. At this rate, Sakura would lose, and have to find some other, secret way to kill Pein. Of course, he wouldn't let her. Pein would kill her. She was barely able to graze him last time, he seriously doubted she could land two solid hits.

And she was just standing there, now. Itachi's eyes narrowed. What was she doing? She couldn't possibly have detected him, his chakra was hidden too well. What was she-

A kunai slammed into the tree, just inches from his face. It was closely followed by several others, all with pouches attached. She did the same thing to several other trees. Each of which he had hidden a bunshin in. His eyes widened. She couldn't possibly have…

"I don't know exactly where you are," she called out. "So let's see if I can smoke you out." She threw kunai at each of the trees.

Itachi saw the paper bomb ignite. He leaped back. "Dam-"

The tree behind him exploded, ten times a larger explosion than a normal paper bomb should have created. _The pouches must have held other paper bombs,_ he realized as he fell from the tree. He caught himself before he hit the ground, but Sakura had seen him.

_Damn._

"I do believe that's one hit," she said with a smirk. "Your shirt is pretty much trashed." Itachi looked down and saw the few burnt scraps of cloth that remained of his shirt.

With a sigh, he vanished, wincing at the burns on his chest and arms. Damn paper bombs. Burns hurt more than anything and you can feel them for weeks, even after they're healed.

Sakura could detect hidden chakra signatures. What an extraordinary talent. And a cumbersome one for him. There was no longer a point in trying to avoid her completely. Time to go on the offensive.

Returning back to the training grounds, a fresh shirt on, and immediately cast a genjutsu around the area. Sakura didn't seem to realize at all. Itachi smirked. She wasn't getting a second hit, that's for sure.

* * *

"Gotcha!" Sakura said in triumph. Only to sigh in disappointment as the clone dispersed into ravens--_again._

'_What are you doing?!'_ Inner asked frustratedly.

_Lightning-based jutsu are my weak points,_ Sakura said, narrowly missing yet _another_ raven-shuriken dive-bombing her. _If I release the genjutsu, I will have to start all over again!_

'_Would you rather be attacked by birds? And you only need a little bit of electricity, not a full-out lightning bolt. It's an electric _field_, not a storm.'_

_Good point._

Sakura brought her hands together. "Kai!" The ravens vanished, and Sakura barely glimpsed Itachi's retreating figure. She chased after him. Several meters apart, the two leapt around the grounds, never getting any closer, never getting farther apart.

Suddenly, Sakura cut to the left--directly in Itachi's path. He tried to get out of the way, but Sakura clamped onto his ankle, and his legs failed him. The two went crashing down from the trees. Itachi hit the ground with a thud, and Sakura fell on top of him. He let out a groan.

"Oh, sorry," Sakura said, getting off of him. Itachi tried to push himself up, but instead, his legs kicked out. He attempted several other things, but nothing in his body seemed to work.

"What the hell?" he grunted.

Sakura's face brightened. "It worked!"

"What worked?" Itachi asked, giving up trying to move.

"I scrambled your nerves," Sakura explained. "It's a jutsu Lady Tsunade taught me."

"Naturally," he sighed. "Well, I guess that's two. You win."

"Hooray!" Sakura cheered.

"Too bad Pein's not here."

"Wait--what?"

"Pein is not here."

"_What?! _Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know until after our bet, and Pein only told me ten minutes before we started."

"Well, where is he, then?"

"He told me specifically not to tell you."

"But _you_ know, right?"

"Sakura, don't start."

"If you don't _tell_ me, just _take_ me there-"

"Not going to happen."

"You won't be telling me if you just take me there-"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"I-"

"No."

"Naruto-"

"Not happening Sakura."

"…You're a stubborn ass, Itachi."

"I'm not about to let you get killed. The answer is no."

"Bastard."

"I know, but this is final. You are _not_ going after Pein."

* * *

"I can't believe we're going after Pein."

"Stop sulking Itachi-san. Even if you hadn't told her, Pein told me."

"Yeah, un. Don't feel bad, we're all wrapped around her fingers like rope, un."

"Coming from you, Deidara, I'm not sure how to take that."

"Ah, don't worry," Sakura said cheerfully. "The four of us are enough to take Pein down."

"We're here now, un," Deidara said, looking at the barely visible city through the clouds. "Let me find a place to land."

The clay bird swooped over the Village Hidden in the Rain, unseen to any of its occupants.

* * *

_**Two days earlier…**_

Tsunade glared at the group in front of her, all of which were looking at the floor, ashamed. She spoke slowly, trying not to let her temper get the best of her. "Let me get this straight. You mean to tell me that you not only completely failed your mission, but you were confronted by Uchiha Itachi _and_ Sakura, and you let _both_ of them _get away?_"

The two boys flinched. "Uh…maybe?"

"_Maybe?!_" The team shrank back in fear.

"We have the scroll though," Sai murmured.

"Which we can do _nothing_ with unless it is unsealed," Tsunade snapped.

Kakashi meekly stepped in, "Lady Tsunade, I seriously doubt that you should-"

"Do not tell me what I should and should not, do, Kakashi! I am the Hokage!" Tsunade snapped. She took several deep breaths until she was relatively calm, then continued, "I do not know why you chose not to bring her back--by force, if necessary--but I do want to know what she promised you in return."

"She said that she would send the head of an Akatsuki member," Sai said. "She mentioned that his head would dissolve the entire group, so I assume it would be the leader."

"Pein," Sasuke said, remembering the conversation he had overheard. "That must be who she's talking about. I heard her mention the name."

Tsunade nodded. "So she's going to kill the leader. Shizune!" she called. "Bring me the entire Akatsuki file!" Shizune came in at once, clutching a large folder.

"Here is all the information we have up to date of all Akatsuki," she said, bowing before rushing out.

Tsunade flipped through the papers in the file. "No…no… Here it is," she said, pulling out a slip of paper. "The list of possible Akatsuki base locations."

"We don't have time to look at them all," Naruto argued. Sasuke and Sai nodded.

"But I'm not looking at all of them," Tsunade replied. "I'm looking at the one where Jiraiya was before he went missing." Naruto clenched his fist and looked away.

Shizune burst in. "Lady Tsunade," she gasped. "A-coded-message-just-arrived-the-code-breakers-figured-it-out-but-all-it-said-was-rain-base." She said all this in one breath and had to spend several moments catching her breath.

"Rain base, huh?" Tsunade said thoughtfully.

* * *

A/N: A small cliffhanger, but a cliffhanger nonetheless.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Second to last chap!! (And I actually updated on time!)

* * *

_**From where the last chapter left off…**_

"It will take you two or three days to get to the Rain Village," Tsunade informed them at the gates. "So you must hurry."

"Got it, Grandma Tsunade," Naruto said, flashing her his signature thumbs up.

"We'll be back with Sakura," Sasuke said. "And if possible, Itachi."

Kakashi looked at his student uneasily. He didn't like the way Sasuke had said, 'if possible.' It was even more obvious what he intended by the look on his face.

"Get going!" Tsunade shooed. The squad left with full intent towards the Hidden Rain Village.

* * *

_**Present day…**_

"Come on, Dei-dei," Sakura hissed. "You don't need to put a bomb on _every_ door."

"Yes, I know," he whined, carefully placing another bomb on a door. "But I want to see this place explode like true art, un. Please?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine. Just hurry up!"

While Deidara placed his bombs, the other three mutinous Akatsuki slipped unseen through Pein's base.

"This is a little too easy," Sakura said. "Shouldn't there be traps? Guards?"

Konan told her, "Pein has many…overconfident ideas about who can get in here. But the way we're going, if Itachi-san's hunch is correct, only Pein can get through unharmed. We should be there soon."

As they rounded the corner, a large, looming door appeared at the end of the hallway. The three started walking, but as they continued, they just became farther away.

"Stupid genjutsu," Sakura muttered.

"Kai!"

They froze. Had they taken one step further, they would have fallen into the pit in front of them. Konan looked down into the pit.

"Spikes at the bottom," she announced. A crackling noise could be heard from the bottom of the pit. "Charged with electricity," she added.

Sakura shuddered. "Let's keep moving."

"Wait for me, un!" Deidara called, finally catching up. Before anyone could take another step, he sent a rather large clay bird to fly down the hall. Barely three meters away, needles shot out from every direction into the bird. It exploded, knocking out the walls, ceiling, and--unfortunately--the floor. The stone and metal fell down the pit for what seemed like forever.

"That's one way to test for traps," Sakura said, watching the only way to get across fall down into the pit. "Now, how to get across?"

"I'll take care of it," Konan said, forming hand signs. Her cloak dispersed into paper, forming a narrow bridge across the gap. "It should hold, just go one at a time. Sakura, you first."

The pink-haired kunoichi tentatively stepped onto the paper bridge. _For paper, it's incredibly firm._

'_Yes, well, we can't have it break and you fall to your untimely death,' _Inner commented dryly.

_Thanks for the support._ Sakura put all her effort into looking forward. _Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down…_

Once she was across, she called over, "Come on, guys." None of them moved. She called again, "What are you waiting for?" Still, none of them moved. They all looked back at her wordlessly.

The hairs on the back of her neck raised up. She whipped around and saw a huge, black--_mass_ of chakra, tendrils snaking out and wrapping around her, restraining her.

Pulling her in.

"Help me!" she screamed. "Do something, please!" They said nothing. Konan's paper bridge fell away and reformed as her cloak. The three Akatsuki turned and walked away. Sakura stared at them in disbelief. "No…" she whispered. "No. No! Konan! Deidara! Itachi! Help!" she pleaded, tears flowing down her face in rivers. They did not answer, but kept walking.

"There is no escape," Pein's echoing voice said coldly. The tendrils of chakra had almost completely encased Sakura. The Akatsuki, her betrayers, rounded the corner, out of sight.

"Why?!" Sakura fought to stop the tears. "I…I…" she choked on her words before yelling, "I trusted you!" Her voice, pained and heartbroken, echoed through the empty halls. Then the tendrils covered her face and everything went black.

* * *

"I trusted you!"

Itachi winced at the pained voice he could hear all too well. It struck even deeper because he knew _he_ had caused her pain. And they had just left her to die.

He snuck a glance at Konan and Deidara. They were both crying silently, but Konan's tears appeared to be blue. Their low, shuddering breaths was enough to drive him crazy.

Deidara's fist shot out into the wall, cracking the stone. "That's it," he snarled. "I can't take it anymore. To hell with Pein! I'm going after Sakura."

Konan stared at him wide eyed. "Deidara, did you just speak in multiple complete sentences without saying 'un' once?" He rolled his eyes. Konan wiped away her tears with her sleeve and added, "I'm coming too."

They looked expectantly at Itachi. "I'm not going," he said. When Deidara looked ready to kill him, he added, "_Yet._ I need to first find the Leaf Ninja. I sent them a message and hoped they would be competent enough to figure it out. Of course, I may be getting my hopes up."

"Who's incompetent?" Sasuke huffed, rounding the corner with the rest of his team. "And since when do you have hopes?"

"A figure of speech, my dear brother," Itachi replied. "And you all just saved me a lot of precious time searching for you."

"Hey, where's Sakura?" Naruto asked, looking around. "I thought she'd be with you guys."

"Uh, hello?" Deidara snapped. "She's been kidnapped, you idiot."

"Must be a blonde thing," Sai said quietly.

Deidara and Naruto glared at him and said, "Would you shut up!"

"Um, I hate to rain on your parade," Konan said, "but we need to rescue Sakura. Temporary truce?"

Everyone looked at each other. Sasuke glared, but nodded. Kakashi and Itachi said, "Fine."

"Great!" Konan said brightly. "Now, let's go rescue our nakama."

* * *

"AAAAAUUGHH!!" Sakura screamed, being sliced by a sword for the thousandth time.

"Yeah, that's it," Pein said, grinning, her blood splattering his face. "Yes, scream even louder!" He brought the sword down again.

"AAAAAIIIIEEEEE!!" she screeched.

_Even without any jutsu at all, he's killing me,_ Sakura thought painfully.

'_So?'_ Inner replied. _'Fight back!'_

_He's cutting me faster than I can heal,_ she whined.

Forcefully, she was pulled up by her hair. She was already in so much pain, this made no difference. Pein said gleefully, "You're going to die now, Sakura. You think I didn't suspect you this whole time? You're worthless in every way. But I have to admit," he added, eyeing her healing wounds. "You have very nice chakra control. And you can heal. But I don't need you anymore." He let her drop, her head falling with a _thunk_ against the floor. "Any last words?"

"Go to hell," she gasped, feeling her wounds heal agonizingly slowly. "And burn there, you miserable bastard."

"Oh, the pretty kunoichi's got a potty mouth," Pein said, feigning horror.

"Damn you," Sakura snarled. She lashed her foot out and managed to kick Pein's leg, breaking his balance, but unfortunately not his leg.

As he fell to the ground, Sakura knocked his sword away. Forming several quick hand signs, she shouted, "Die, Pein!" She leaped at him, her hands glowing with chakra.

"Not good enough," he hissed, kicking her arm. Sakura screamed again as it snapped. With her good arm, she brought her chakra scalpel down onto his chest. But at the last second, he blocked it with his arm.

_Effectively slicing his blood vessels and tendons,_ Sakura thought with satisfaction as Pein howled in pain.

"You useless little bitch!" Pein spat, kicking her away. "I should have killed you the day you got here!" He put his foot down on her arm and broke the bone.

Sakura yelled as her bad arm broke again. Pein grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, yanking her up. "Bastard," Sakura whispered hoarsely, trying to heal her arm.

"It's pointless to fight," he said, his voice deathly calm. "You've got no reason to live. The one you love has betrayed you. Your friends have abandoned you. The only thing you've got left is pain."

"You…liar…" Sakura croaked, feeling completely drained. Her arm was half healed. She was still bleeding. All her chakra was used up.

Pein picked up the sword, still dripping with her blood. "You see this? This is what you have to live for. Is it worth it?" He let her drop again. She didn't even have the strength to pull herself up. Pein continued. "Choose a painless death now. Get on your knees and plead with me, _beg me_ to kill you quickly. Or beg for your life. Either way, you're going to die."

Sakura was silent for a long while. "I say…" she said finally. "I say…you…go…to… hell."

Pein's face hardened. "Then die!" He raised his sword--

--And was blown to the side by the force of a gigantic bomb.

Sakura looked in amazement as everyone--Deidara, Konan, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, Sai, Naruto--her breath hitched--and Itachi--appeared, determination all over their faces.

"Hey, Pein," Deidara said. "Get your filthy hands off of Sakura."

Pein clumsily got to his feet. "So, I see the gang's all here," he said dryly, his eyes locked on Konan, "All here to rescue this pathetic-"

Naruto started forward, anger lining his features. "Why, you-"

Kakashi stopped him. "Wait, Naruto," he murmured. "He's way out of your league."

"That's right," Pein said. "None of you are a match for me--combined." He went through a few hand seals and Sakura felt like the pressure of the sky was pushing her. She was in a cage of chakra. Pein crowed, "Now I'll let her watch while I kill every-"

"Shut up, Pein."

Everyone looked at Konan in surprise. No words could describe the amount of venom she put into those three words. Her glare was so hateful, so full of pure spite, that everyone had to take a step back. A murderous aura that surrounded her would've given Sakura a run for her money.

"I am _so_ sick of all your high and mighty talk," she said maliciously, stepping towards him. "'None of you are a match for me', 'I'm much more powerful than all of you'. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. But you are still just a no good airhead who-"

She choked on her words. Then coughed up a mouthful of blood. She grasped the blade of the sword going through her chest and looked at it in apparent surprise. Blood soaked her cloak and she sank to her knees.

"I've had enough of your disrespectful talk," Pein said coldly, watching his ex-comrade fall. "Remember your place." There was a moment of shocked silence.

"Konaaaaan!"

Sakura's anguished cry echoed through the room.

Deidara dropped to his knees and tried to prop Konan up. "Hang in there, Konan," he whispered frantically. "Don't forget, we have to get Sakura and kill Pein!"

Konan chuckled weakly. "Yeah, about that. I don't-" She paused to cough up another mouthful of blood. "I don't think I'll live to see that. Sakura," Konan said, turning to look at her friend. "Kill this bastard for your nakama, will you?"

"Yeah, Konan," Sakura said tearfully. "It'll be a walk in the park, don't worry."

Konan sighed. "That's good. That's…very…" Her head lolled to the side and she said no more. A trickle of blood ran out of her mouth. Very gently, Deidara laid her down flat on her back.

No one said anything for several moments. Sakura stared at her friend. She had a sudden flashback of the images Itachi had put into her mind during the initiation ceremony. Slowly, ever so slowly, cold fury filled Sakura, in every part of her body, down into the depths of her soul. The icy feeling of anger gave her the strength to stand up, to glare at Pein with so much hatred in her eyes they felt they would bleed, and her blood boiled so much her veins felt like they were on fire.

"You know what?" she said calmly, her murderous rage suffocating the entire room. "I just remembered something." She brought her hands together and released the seal.

The chakra cage shattered, disappearing into nothingness. Pein whispered, "Impossible…"

"Oh, very possible," Sakura said in that overly calm tone. "I'm sure Konan told you everything about me, right? But one thing she _didn't_ mention would be this," she said, gesturing to her face. Red lines swirled around her face and neck, emanating from a cherry-blossom shape on her neck. Sakura continued, moving towards her friend, "I can now regenerate faster than you can hurt me, Pein. And did you feel my rise in chakra level? That's part of this too." She pulled the sword out and quickly checked Konan's pulse and vitals. The sword had missed her heart by half of a centimeter, but she was still alive enough to revive. Hopefully.

_Please, please, please, please,_ she thought.

Nothing happened.

Deidara gently moved Sakura's hands. She was staring blankly down at Konan.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he whispered. "She's gone."

"No," Sakura whispered. "She was alive just a minute ago."

Itachi looked at her. What strange words, coming from a medic. Hadn't she seen this many, many times before?

Sakura composed herself with a sigh. "Nothing left but to kill the bastard, right?" She glanced at Pein, who was still gaping at them in amazement. "I could use a little help killing him. You game?" She got to her feet, cracking her knuckles.

"Gladly," the blonde-haired Akatsuki said.

"Aw, come on Sakura," Naruto complained. "How come you get to kill him?"

"How will he hold up against Chidori?" Sasuke murmured. "I'd like to see that."

"I think we all ought to kill him," Kakashi said reasonably, "Seeing as you all want to."

Itachi's eyes turned Sharingan. "It'll be worth the vision loss."

Deidara looked at Sakura hopefully. "I get to blow him up, right?"

Sakura smiled. "Sure."

"Yes!" Deidara cheered.

"Oh, Dei-dei," Sakura asked, a small frown on her face. "Did you lose your accent?"

"Why are you only noticing that?" he complained.

Kakashi coughed lightly. "We still have to kill Pein, remember?"

Everyone's head swiveled to look at Pein, who jumped.

"So Pein," Sakura said with a wicked grin. "Are you going to beg us to kill you quickly, or beg for your life? Either way, you're going to die."

* * *

"Okay, Deidara, he's all yours."

"Finally."

"Don't complain."

"Well, did you have to cut his head off?"

"Yes, we're sending that to Lady Tsunade."

"…Do I want to know?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Ah, well. Let's see it go up!"

"You enveloped the body in exploding clay. What'll be left to see?"

"That's the point."

"If you were him, you would do the same thing, Naruto. It must really be a blonde thing."

"Shut up, Sai!!"

"Just detonate it, Dei-Dei."

"In three…two…one!"

There was a huge explosion that shook the entire city. Burning pieces of Pein fell from the sky. Deidara looked at Kakashi proudly, smirking.

"Okay, _now_ you can salvage the body."

"…I don't think I want to take it with us anymore."

"I doubt there's much that isn't burned to a crisp now, anyway."

"We should leave the building now, though."

"Why?"

"…Remember those balls of clay I put on every door?"

"Yeah, after Pein was dead, you told me it wasn't explosive. So we have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, well…"

"…Dei-dei?"

"I…sort of…lied."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"No, I'm not."

"You're kidding…right?"

"…"

"Oh, Dei-dei, you didn't!"

"They're sort of timed bombs. They should go off in about…two minutes."

"I _knew_ it was a blonde thing."

"Shut _up_, Sai! Now is _not_ a very good time!"

"Then why are we standing here waiting to be blown up?"

"Itachi's right. Move!"

* * *

Leaving the burning building behind, the missing-nin and Leaf shinobi flew back to Konoha.

"Ahhhhh," Naruto said, stretching out. "This beats walking _any_ day."

"Hey," Deidara warned. "Keep your crazy Jinchuuriki chakra under control. Otherwise we all go falling."

"You don't scare me," Naruto snickered. Wordlessly, Deidara flipped the bird over, sending everyone falling. Everyone was caught but Naruto, who kept plummeting towards the ground.

"Dei-dei, catch him," Sakura scolded. "The Leaf will be angry if you let him die. And hurry up, his screams are getting fainter."

"Fine," Deidara grumbled, swooping his bird to catch the screaming teen.

"What are you, crazy?!" Naruto screamed at him, clutching his chest, trying to slow down his heart. "You could've killed me!"

"No," Deidara replied darkly, pulling out a handful of explosive spiders. "_These_ would've killed you. Scared now?"

"Why, you-"

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke said, covering his ears with his hands. "You're giving me a headache."

"_You_ shut up, teme!" Naruto snapped back. "You're life wasn't just at risk!"

"What, were you too stupid to remember that you could summon a frog to catch you?" Sai asked.

"They're toads, dipstick!" Naruto said. "And you shouldn't be talking, you could've caught me with one of your ink creatures!"

While the boys continued to argue, Sakura turned to her teacher. "Kakashi-sensei, please shut them up. Otherwise this entire trip will be miserable for all of us."

"I can't do anything," Kakashi said, not taking his eyes off his book. "I gave up trying years ago."

A vein pulsed on Sakura's forehead and fist. _This is what I get for having the laziest teacher ever for a sensei, _she thought irritably.

Under the influence of the three arguing teens, their voices getting louder and louder, Itachi cracked first.

"The three of you," he said darkly. "I don't want to hear another word from _any_ of you for the rest of this trip. If I hear so much as a whisper, a mumble, or a loud _breath,_ I will _personally_ _torture_ _you_ for the next _three_ _days_. _Understood?_"

Wide-eyed and utterly terrified, the three boys nodded vigorously and fell silent.

Sakura sighed. "I am _so _glad you can do that, Itachi. This is going to save me a lot of grief for the next couple of years."

* * *

A/N: The last chapter will pretty much be a wrap-up. And sorry for completely skipping that fight scene with everyone against Pein; but really: two Uchihas, an ANBU Root member, _Kakashi_ _Hatake_, an Akatsuki, and the Fifth Hokage's apprentice--he didn't stand a chance. Besides, I'm bad enough with fight scenes when it's one-on-one, how would I handle all that?


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Yay, the wrap-up chapter is finally here! Thank you to all you lovely reviewers:

ItachiTenshi, XxXSpazasticXxX, Kyo 12591, Simply Mizu, Three sisters productions, Mybloodymemories, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, Gothic Raven, Narutard Kerry, Valkonien Kutoja, Kunoichi-wolfDemon, Musik Drache, cherryblossom001, sachiko haruki, Desperate Fool, smileyfacebabe, Twisted Musalih, Vlerka, Hitoryan, Lady Sakura of the Uchihas, ToxicInsanity, Itaweasel-hime, EmilieCW-DXfano119, Namikaze Uchiha, Sovereign Aurora, DarkLilyOfTheNight96, Ms. Anny .O~~~

You're what kept me going!

* * *

"I can't believe they let you stay. I would've had you executed."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sasuke."

"Well, you did wipe out the clan. _And _join the Akatsuki. _And _try to kill us. _And _you kidnapped Sakura. _And-_"

"We get it, teme."

"What about Dei-dei?"

"He and Tobi are all allowed to stay. It probably helped that you implied that you would make them suffer in pain for the rest of their lives."

"Me? I would never do that...kinda."

"Right. Deidara is under strict orders not to use his bombs within the village, or he will immediately be 'removed'."

"I give him a month."

"I'll give him two weeks."

"Three days, ten minutes."

"Oh, thanks for Dei-dei's vote of confidence."

Sasuke and Naruto laughed while Itachi smirked. He was his back in the Leaf as a free man. After several months in prison, every day was a breath of fresh air. He held his fiancé closer as she snuggled into his arm.

"Sakura, I meant to ask you," Naruto said, glancing at his friend. "You look a little…well, older."

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, don't worry. It's an aftereffect of the jutsu I used. It'll wear off. But at least I look old enough for this guy," she added, looking affectionately at Itachi.

"Funny," he replied. "I guess I'll have to get used to the idea of a wife that will slowly begin to look younger." Sakura gave him a playful slap.

"So, do you have a name yet?" Sasuke asked. "You'll have to think of one soon, you're getting bigger."

"Relax, Sasuke," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "I've still got four months. But if you must know, I'm thinking Kichiro for a boy and Kyoko if it's a girl."

They arrived at the graveyard, and Sakura stepped up to where Konan laid. She smiled and said, "Or how about Konan as a name, if it's a girl?" She bent slightly to place the flowers she was holding down, but Sasuke snatched them away.

"Let me do it," he insisted.

"Sasuke, I'm not that helpless," she said, rolling her eyes.

"So sue me for not wanting my future niece or nephew to be weird because you overexerted yourself."

She rolled her eyes again. "Jeez, you're worse than Itachi. I swear he'd carry me if I'd let him."

"Leave me out of it."

Naruto laughed as they went back to the street. "What a year this has been," Naruto sighed. "It's nice to just be out with you guys."

Sakura stared at him. "Weren't you supposed to be meeting Hinata in the park at one?"

"What?" he yelped. "I lost track of time!" He bolted for the park, out of sight in seconds.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Hinata had better calm that dobe down soon," he muttered. "Or I'll never get a moment of peace."

"Oh, please, Sasuke," Sakura said cheerfully. "You need that knucklehead as much as I do. It gives you something to do, seeing as you are no longer allowed to kill your brother. Or else," she added menacingly.

"Right. Like I want to be on the receiving end of your wrath," he scoffed.

"Even I'm afraid of that," Itachi said, stroking Sakura's hair.

Sasuke mock-gaped at him. "You? Afraid of anything? Astounding."

"And anyway, Sasuke," Sakura said. "When are you going to get a girlfriend?"

"When a shower of flaming senbon fall from the sky and nearly kill me," he grumbled. "Why do I need a girlfriend, anyway?"

Sakura frowned. "I thought you wanted to revive your clan."

Sasuke snorted. "Not anymore. You've got Itachi for tha-"

Several senbon were suddenly shot into the ground directly in front of Sasuke's feet. They were smoking slightly. The sounds of cursing could be heard from the treetops. The three Leaf-nin looked up and saw a teenage girl with short, streaked brown hair and long bangs in the treetops. She wore a chunin vest over her shirt and had black shorts over her heavily bandaged legs.

"Hey, sorry down there!" she called. "I'm Miyako Kitsune. I'm trying my new flaming senbon jutsu, but I can't get it to ignite."

"Well, watch it!" Sasuke yelled back. "We have training grounds, you know! Do your crazy jutsu somewhere else!"

"Well, thanks a lot, Mr. Polite!" she snapped. "When I want your help, I'll ask for it!" She pulled her eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at him.

Enraged, Sasuke grabbed the senbon and raced up the tree. In front of the surprised kunoichi, he said, "_This _is not the way to light a senbon, you have to put oil or something else flammable on it first. Metal is _not_ flammable by itself. All you'll do with these is burn yourself and cause a forest fire."

Miyako snatched the senbon back. "Oh yeah? I would've figured it out for myself eventually."

Sasuke snorted. "When, in fifty years?"

"If that's what it takes!" she snapped. "I'm going to be a great ninja someday, so you'd better stop bothering me!" She leaped away, leaving a stunned Sasuke behind her.

"Wha--hey, get back here!" He leaped after her. Sakura watched them go, grinning from ear to ear.

"Who does she remind you of?" she asked Itachi. He smirked.

"I get the feeling this will end well," he replied, continuing to walk.

"For them," Sakura said, twining her fingers in his. "And for us too."

* * *

A/N: (Short, it may be)

Ah, I love happy endings! (Did you get the "Kitsune" joke?)


End file.
